Schism
by Mengde
Summary: A day after Cloud and Sephiroth's final duel, a strange visitor named Auron appears on the doorstep of Seventh Heaven. His arrival starts a conflict that will decide not only their fates, but that of the Planet itself. Revised and better than ever.
1. Chapter I

**Disclaimer: Any and all characters and/or properties of the Final Fantasy series do not belong to me. I am using them in this work of fiction which is mine, but I hold no legal rights to them and make no pretense to.**

Wow, I was really stuffy back then, to write such a bold and legal-sounding disclaimer.

If you're here for the first time, welcome. My name is Mengde, and this is my story, Schism. It's a crossover between Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X, my two favorites of the franchise.

If you're here because you've read this story before, then welcome back! I wouldn't call this Schism 2.0, I would just call it Schism 1.5. I've given it a facelift – edited or rewritten parts that irked me, had pacing or character problems, etc. The writing is also going through the gauntlet of VulcanElf's expert betaing. Everyone give her a round of applause. It's practically like new! I'll put up a new chapter every Wednesday, along with a chapter from my other ongoing fic featuring Auron and Sephiroth, A Clash of Heroes. (shameless plug)

One small note: this is in the FFVII section because that's where it was born and that's where I want it to stay. It is technically a crossover, but in my mind this is very firmly a Final Fantasy VII story. Just to clear up any confusion.

So, regardless if you're a newcomer or someone who's familiar with the story but just wants to reread it, I invite you to sit back and enjoy.

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* * *

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**Schism**

**A Final Fantasy VII/X Fan Fiction**

**Written by Mengde**

Auron realized that he was realizing something.

This was, of course, a vast improvement over his previous state of being, namely nonbeing. He was cognizant, so something had changed.

Opening his one good eye, Auron confirmed that he was still in the Farplane, but something about it was different than before. It was no longer so much a place as it was a consciousness, though he still stood in the endless field of flowers visible from the entry in Guadosalam. Auron had no idea how much time had passed since he had last felt anything. His last memory was watching Yuna and her friends topple the menace in the Farplane, and the thought: _Go to her, Tidus_.

_Why am I back? _he wondered.

At the time, the fayth had approached Auron and offered to try to bring him back, as well. He could return to Spira as a living man, not as an unsent.

But Auron had simply replied, "This is their story, now."

_Perhaps my own story isn't over yet._

There was a shift in what passed for the wind, and before Auron stood a young man.

He was almost Auron's height, and while he was not as strongly built, he wore a very dangerous aura of power. He had long, grey hair with upswept bangs, beautiful features, and a poisonous, penetrating stare. He was dressed almost entirely in black, with steel shoulder spaulders.

Most impressive of all, he grasped in his left hand an enormous sword, what might have been a katana if it hadn't been as long as he was tall.

Without seeming to expend any effort, the young man leveled the massive sword at Auron's head with one hand, blade parallel to the ground.

"Who are you?" Auron demanded.

The young man sprang forward with incredible agility. Auron unslung the Masamune from across his back and brought it into the path of the enormous sword. In an instant it was no longer there, angling in from another direction in a slash instead of a thrust. With an oath, Auron pushed back, whirling, and slammed the considerable weight of his weapon into that of his foe's. His opponent's swing was stopped dead, but so was Auron's, and the two of them dug their heels into the ground. Even while applying pressure across more than six feet of blade, the young man was monstrously strong.

_That enormous blade means he has equally enormous blind spots._

With a heave, Auron disengaged their blades and rushed forward. Immediately he had to fend off another horizontal strike; marveling at his enemy's speed, he leaped into the air, dodging a low blow in the process. He twisted as he jumped, bringing the Masamune's broad side around to bash off his opponent's head.

The young man brought up his right hand, open-palmed, the arm bent at the elbow a bit, and took the attack right there. Auron's strike came within an inch of his opponent's head, but it was ground to a halt. A demonic grin lit the young man's face.

One black, feathered wing sprang up from behind his right shoulder. Quick as a snake, the young man's hand darted from Auron's blade into a punch that took him under his ribs. He went flying, incredible pain shooting through his chest. When he hit the ground, the impact blew all the breath out of him.

Heaving himself back onto his feet, Auron freed his left arm from his jacket in the same motion. The thought crossed his mind that he was probably in trouble.

His opponent was above him, slicing down. Auron sidestepped, jumped back to give himself distance. He swung the Masamune about himself, gathering power, and coalesced the energy into a tornado, which he hurled at his foe. The young man was swept into it; Auron reached for his flask and chucked it into the wind, which spontaneously combusted into a whirling firestorm.

Much to his surprise and dismay, his tornado exploded. It was torn apart from the inside by massive pillars of flame that surrounded the young man, insulating him from the firestorm's heat. The pillars collapsed as Auron's foe lowered an upraised hand and charged again.

Auron made ready to withstand the charge. An oncoming front of air hit him, and he braced himself.

And continued to brace himself.

After another moment, Auron relaxed his stance and surveyed his enemy.

The grey-haired young man stood there, a look of anticipation on his face. The wing vanished and Auron's foe spoke for the first time, sounding deliriously happy.

"_Cloud_."

He vanished, dissolving into a dark mist.

Auron let his guard down and collapsed into a sitting position.

_He had the upper hand._

Distantly, he heard a roaring sound. He turned about to see thousands of tons of water, pouring from the great Farplane Waterfalls, bearing down on him.

_Not a pleasant way to wake up_.

* * *

Auron woke face-down in a deep pool of what seemed to be water. He coughed as he pulled himself out of the stuff, which smelled sweet and tasted faintly of nectar. Memories of his childhood rose in his mind's eye, unbidden. He realized that he was thirsty, so he cupped his hands and carried some of the water to his mouth. It only dawned on him after he had swallowed it that he hadn't felt thirst in more than ten years.

_I'm alive_?

He heard the scrape of boot on stone to his right and immediately swung the Masamune without thinking. There was a yell of surprise, followed by an indignant, "What the hell?"

Auron realized he'd swung at a petite young woman with oriental features, short black hair, and an outfit that suggested she had an overly optimistic body-image. She held an enormous boomerang-shuriken but did not look as though she was about to use it, even though Auron had taken a swing at her.

Looking beyond her for a moment, Auron saw that he was most definitely no longer in the Farplane. Large buildings towered above him, and even the ground beneath his feet was composed of an unfamiliar, grey substance.

"I said, what's the big idea?"

Auron refocused on the girl. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else." At that, it also occurred to him that his unknown assailant might have come to or been taken to this place as well.

He shouldered the Masamune. "Listen. Have you seen a young man with grey hair dressed in black wielding an enormous sword? He ambushed me… somehow."

"You know Sephiroth?" the young woman asked, surprise evident on her features. "You must've been hallucinating or something. Cloud beat him yesterday."

_Cloud_. For a moment Auron had to concentrate, but then he remembered. "I don't know who Cloud is, or this Sephiroth, or you, or where I am. What I do know is that I appear to be alive again, which is an improvement on my state of being. Now, perhaps you can tell me what's going on."

The young woman was silent for a moment. Then she slung her weapon across her back and cocked her head at him. "You're not from around here, are you?"

* * *

Auron, with the young woman trailing behind him, entered the bar she'd indicated. Above the door was a sign saying _Seventh Heaven._ The young woman had told him her name was Yuffie Kisaragi.

He opened the door and entered to be confronted with the most motley crew he'd laid eyes on since he had become Yuna's guardian.

Seated at the bar were three men, their backs to him, though they all turned to look when Auron entered. One of them was dressed in black, with bare arms and what appeared to be a leather harness for at least six swords on his back. He had spiky blond hair and blue eyes with a peculiar glow to them. Seated to his left was a large dark-skinned man with imposing features, an extremely muscular build, and a right forearm and hand that looked like they were composed entirely of silver. To the blond man's right was a sandy-haired, rough-looking man. He was smoking some kind of foul-smelling weed and sported a five o'clock shadow.

Standing behind the bar was a striking woman, with black hair and delicate features. She wore a black leather vest that left her arms bare – Auron noted the similarity between her garb and the center man's and filed it away for future reference. Next to her was a small girl with brown hair and round features. She stood barely above the height of the bar, and Auron estimated she could not be much older than six.

In the darkest corner of the room, sitting in a chair with his back against the wall, was an extremely pale, black-haired man. He wore a ragged red cloak over black garments. On his left hand was an armored gauntlet ending in a formidable set of claws. Auron also made note of his footwear – golden greaves narrowing to a sharp point at their ends. The man returned his scrutiny with unblinking ruby eyes.

Lying next to the bar, seemingly asleep, was a long, lanky, canine creature covered in bright red fur. It bore a tattoo of the number XIII, as well as an elaborate headdress and several visible battle scars, the most prominent of which stretched across its right eye. At the end of its slowly lashing tail was a flame that burned brightly yet seemed not to sear anything it touched. Next to it was what appeared to be a small black cat moogle. Auron frowned slightly to himself; the thing reminded him of one of Lulu's dolls.

In another, more brightly lit corner were two men, both of whom seemed to match the most out of the entire group. One was bald and wore sunglasses and a slight goatee, as well as an impeccably kept uniform of some sort. The man next to him was shorter and lankier, with fiery red hair and similarly colored, symmetrical marks on his cheekbones. His uniform was unkempt, the white shirt beneath the jacket creased and unbuttoned in some places.

"Who the hell're you?"

It was the sandy-haired man wearing the blue shirt. Upon closer inspection, Auron noticed that a dogtag hung around the man's neck, though the significance of it was lost on him.

Yuffie shouldered past Auron into the bar. "Guys, this is Auron. I found him in the crater Bahamut left." She started pointing out people to Auron. Center blond man – "Cloud Strife." Sandy hair – "Cid Highwind." Silver arm – "Barrett Wallace." Woman behind the bar – "Tifa Lockhart." The girl next to her – "Marlene, Barrett's daughter." Red-eyed man – "Vincent Valentine." Red mammal – "Red XIII." The moogle sitting next to him – "Cait Sith, though it's really just a puppet being controlled by Reeve Tuesti." The two men in uniforms – "Reno, the red-haired one, and Rude, sunglasses guy. But nobody likes them."

"We love you too, sugar," Reno drawled. "Don't hate us 'cause we're beautiful."

His partner said nothing.

"That's not why we hate you, Cupcake," Cid snorted, then turned his attention back to Auron. "So, you were here when the Sephiroth brothers an' the big man himself came to make trouble? Sorry if we dropped Kadaj's little toy on your head."

"I just got here, wherever _here_ happens to be, this morning, if I have local time right," Auron replied. "Let me first make something clear: I've traveled the entire world and I've never seen a city like this. Where are we?"

"Edge City, Eastern Continent," Barrett said. "Y'know, where Midgar used t'be."

"Midgar?"

"You don't look like you're from Wutai," Yuffie said, taking a seat at one of the tables scattered about the bar. "How can you not know about Midgar?"

"I don't know about any Wutai, either."

The group before him exchanged glances, speaking volumes without words. Auron had a sudden flash back to the same thing happening between himself, Jecht, and Braska, and a pang of regret shot through him.

Cloud straightened on his barstool. "Rocket Town?"

"No."

"Nibelheim?"

"No."

"Mideel?"

"No."

"Junon?"

"No."

"Costa del Sol?"

"No."

"Gongaga?"

"No."

"Icicle Inn?"

"No."

"Don't tell me that you're from Kalm and you don't know about Midgar."

"Unless you're speaking of the Eternal Calm I don't know about that, either."

Another series of glances. The woman behind the bar, Tifa, spoke up. "Perhaps _you_ could tell us where you're from, then."

"Can't really say. I don't remember my hometown."

"Where are some places you've been to, then?"

"Bevelle, Luca, Kilika, Besaid, Djose, the Calm Lands, Gagazet… Zanarkand, too, I suppose."

More glances. "None of us have ever heard of any of those places," Vincent spoke up from the corner he was sitting in.

Auron frowned. "I can't imagine where in Spira we are, then."

"Spira?" Reno asked. "Some kind of spear?"

It dawned on Auron that he was more than simply lost in an unfamiliar environment. "It appears that this isn't Spira."

"Is Spira where you hail from?" Red XIII asked.

"You can speak?" Auron exclaimed. A moment later he got control of himself. "My apologies. I thought you were…"

"…a pet. A common misconception. Now, could you elaborate on Spira's location?"

"Spira is the _world_ I come from."

A sort of odd silence descended upon the room.

"Let's take this one step at a time," the moogle sitting next to Red XIII said abruptly. "Where were you before you appeared in our… world?"

"The Farplane."

"The what?"

"It's where the dead go after they have been sent, or if they've accepted death prior to its visiting them."

Cid turned halfway around in his barstool, pulled out another with his foot, and reached under the bar. He retrieved a large bottle, twisted the cap off, motioned to the empty stool. "Have a sitdown an' tell us the whole story, because from the sound of it we're gonna be here a while."

With a small shrug, Auron did just that.

* * *

Nearly two hours later, Auron finished, "And that was when the young, grey-haired man appeared, fought with me, and I ended up here."

Aside from the odd question here and there, the group – including the two uniformed men who struck Auron as not being a part of the group proper – were completely silent. They remained so for about half a minute after Auron finished, then Cloud finally spoke.

"Seems like he attacked you just as Kadaj and I were dueling. Kadaj maneuvered things so I sliced open the container with JENOVA's head… Not that you know who JENOVA is," he added hastily, "but anyway, after that, Sephiroth used the cells to make Kadaj his avatar so he could fight me. When you saw him disappear, he probably showed up to attack me."

"A sound theory," Vincent said to him. Turning his attention to Auron, he continued, "But how did you get from your Farplane to our world? Yuffie says she found you in a pool of the Lifestream. Perhaps our Lifestream and your Farplane are connected."

"I've had enough of the Lifestream to last me quite a while," Tifa murmured, apparently to herself. Only Cloud seemed to grasp what she meant; everyone else gave nods and murmured assent. He, however, favored her with a small, knowing smile.

"How does one access your Farplane?" Red XIII asked. "Our Lifestream is effectively the realm of our dead, but accessing it is not impossible for the living."

"There was a portal of sorts in the subterranean city of Guadosalam," Auron replied.

"Was this city of yours built into a huge, multi-storied cave?" Cloud asked.

Auron stared at him. "How did you know that?"

Cloud looked like he regretted putting himself on the spot, but he explained. "A year ago, Tifa and I had just started Strife Delivery Services. There was an archaeological team that said they'd discovered what appeared to be an ancient sunken city in this huge cave complex. The only two entrances, however, were blocked up by thousands of tons of rock, and they couldn't get through normally. We delivered them some explosives, then never heard from them again."

"Could we go and see this underwater city?" Auron asked.

The group exchanged another one of their glances, then the collective gaze turned to Yuffie. "Cough 'em up," Barrett said.

Yuffie, though she tried to look calm, was betrayed by a blush coloring her face. "Cough what up?"

"Our underwater materia," Cid said. "We had four of 'em."

"I have _no idea_ what you're talking about," Yuffie insisted, but her voice cracked.

Without further preamble, Vincent got to his feet, crossed the room to Yuffie, swirled his cape about her, and then removed it. In his gauntleted hand he held four glowing orbs. "Here they are."

Auron stared at them, fascinated. "They look like spheres from my world. More luminescent, however. What are they?"

"It's a long story," Cid said. "We'll explain on the trip over. Yer comin' with us to this sunken city of yours, so take one." He took one of the materia from Vincent and tossed it to Auron, who caught it with his free hand. "It'll let you breathe an' speak underwater, and it'll let you stand up to huge changes in pressure."

"That's nice. How do I use it?"

"For ordinary materia you need slots on your weapon to install 'em in, but underwater materia just works," Cid explained. "Keep it on you and you'll be fine."

"Count Tifa and me in for visiting this underwater city," Cloud said, and Cid tossed him two of the remaining three. Cloud caught them, handed one to Tifa, stuck his in a pocket. "Good to go."

"An' that just leaves me," Cid said. He moved to pocket the orb, then realized he was no longer holding it. A low snickering from behind him caused him to spin around and see Yuffie secreting the materia away.

"You stupid broad, that's –"

"_My_ materia, thanks," she said. "Wanna try and take it?"

"You wanna try swimmin' to this place?" Cid threatened.

"Calm down," Cloud said. "Yuffie will just have to come with us, then." He turned to the cat moogle. "Reeve, do us a favor and see if you can come up with more underwater materia. We may all want to investigate the city together at some point."

"Can do," the cat replied.

Auron stared at the materia he held in his gloved hand. It was an odd feeling – like holding a bit of magic. He'd never bothered to learn any magic beyond what was helpful in lighting a fire to keep one warm at night. He certainly knew nothing powerful enough to bring into battle. In this world, he felt even that bit of magic power denied him, as though the vast currents and eddies of energy that were present in Spira had dried up and died here. The materia was a survivor of something that had come before, that much Auron could feel.

He shrugged and put it in his coat where he knew it wouldn't fall out or otherwise come loose.

"Cid, call the _Shera_," Cloud said. The grizzled pilot nodded and pulled out a small device which he began to bark orders into. Auron shook his head; this world was full of unfamiliar wonders.

Tifa vaulted over the bar and told Marlene to get Denzel and go to Elmyra's place for the time being. She nodded and began to close up the bar.

"Elmyra is a friend?" Auron asked.

Barrett nodded. "Yeah. Elmyra's an old friend of ours. She looked after Marlene back when we were fightin' the Shin-Ra. I bet she won't mind watching the kids for a couple days." He adjusted his silver forearm and hand a bit.

Auron didn't ask who the Shin-Ra were; he assumed he'd find out later, if it was important. A thought occurred to him, and he looked over at Reno and Rude. "You two aren't coming?"

"Who d'you think's going to get the underwater materia Reeve's looking for when he finds it?" Reno sneered, his derision obviously directed at the black cat and not at Auron. "Reeve would lose his own pants if they weren't strapped on with a belt." He turned to Rude. "Let's go get some R and R while we can, partner."

Rude nodded and followed Reno to the exit. At the last moment he looked over his shoulder and said, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Auron said, noting that these were the first words the man had spoken all afternoon.

There was a thundering sound from the roof, and Cloud motioned for Auron to follow. The party ascended to the roof to see a massive airship making a landing. Auron had been impressed by the airship Cid had salvaged from the ocean floor – he wasn't even going to ruminate on the parallels between the Cid he knew and the one of this world – but this one put the one he knew to shame.

"Let's go," Cloud said.


	2. Chapter II

Reno and Rude, taking their "R and R," had wandered into a bar in another part of Edge. Sephiroth's attack and Geostigma might have fazed any other civilization in existence, but the people of Edge were not any other civilization. They erected roadblocks around craters and got on with their lives.

Normally, the Turks would have fit in as well as could be expected of two off-duty suits, but this time Reeve had insisted they take Cait Sith with them.

Now the cat sat on the bar next to Reno's bottle and shotglass. The Turk sincerely hoped that Reeve would be so kind as to call him on his cell and not draw attention to them –

"News, Reno, Rude!"

Reno blew out an irate sigh as everyone in the bar turned to look at him and Rude – and the cat, of course.

"Could you use a goddamn phone?" Reno asked, trying to keep his voice low.

"Why would I use a phone when this is so much faster?"

The answer, in the form of a hulking giant of a man, swaggered up behind Reno. "Hey, Red. Nice cat. It belong to yer husband Baldie here?"

Loud, jeering laughter broke out through the bar. It stopped when Reno, without taking his eyes off the cat, pulled his prod from his belt and smashed the man across the jaw. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm trying to talk with my boss. You're being rude right now."

Nobody had anything else to say.

Reno returned the prod to his belt, pouring himself another drink with his free hand. "What's up, Reeve?" he asked before downing the shot.

"I talked to Rufus about underwater materia. He says Shin-Ra had a stash of them at HQ, but get this – they were on the sixty-seventh floor. When the JENOVA specimen broke loose, all that materia disappeared. We can only assume it was consumed."

"Swing and a miss," Reno muttered. Rude said nothing.

"The other place he said to look would be the sunken Gelnika, but Cloud and company picked it clean and found no underwater materia. Unsurprising, since we weren't expecting to fight Sephiroth underwater, but still."

"So, we've exhausted possible Shin-Ra resources," Reno said. "Anywhere else we could go?"

"Yes," Reeve replied. "My own sources tell me that there's an archaeological team that used to do underwater work. They may have some underwater materia you can borrow."

"You figure these are the same guys who tried to get into the sunken city that Auron claims he knows?"

"How many teams of archaeologists do you know of that operate on a professional level?"

"Only one," Rude said before Reno could open his mouth. "Headed by Dr. Ashworth from Kalm."

The redhead looked at his partner, surprised. "How would you know?"

"One of the team's members worked for Shin-Ra for a while. We'd see one another when we got coffee and he'd tell me about their finds." Rude shrugged. "We sort of fell out of touch, but I remember his last name was Sparks."

"Already on it," Cait Sith told them.

* * *

Auron woke to the sound of someone being very sick.

There was a pause, then another "URRRK!"

Rolling off the bunk he'd been provided, Auron stuck his head out into the hall and followed the noises to the bathroom. "Who's in there? Are you hurt?"

The door abruptly opened to reveal a pale, haggard-looking Yuffie. "It's me. I have motion sickn – uhhhgh – URK –"

Thankfully, she managed to get to the receptacle before the motion sickness hit her again.

Between feeling rested and not wanting to contemplate sleep after that unpleasant sight, Auron decided to wander the ship. It was a large, almost labyrinthine vessel, but in many ways it reminded him of the airship he'd ridden in Spira, the _Fahrenheit. _The curves of the corridors, the high ceilings of the open rooms – there were more than a few passing similarities.

Eventually, he found himself on the bridge. Red XIII slumbered up against the viewport. Cid snoozed with one foot up on the wheel of the _Shera_ – one might think he was piloting it in his sleep if the AUTOPILOT light hadn't been blinking.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Cloud stood behind Auron. He looked tired, and on his back in the harness was an enormous sword, bigger than Auron's Masamune.

"Yuffie… Well. It's not her fault she woke me."

The blonde gave him an embarrassed grin. "The _Shera_'s got a nice rec center. Better place to think and work out than here."

Auron followed Cloud into a large room with several couches, a low table, and a large training mat with an array of weights set off to the side. On one of the couches, Vincent stretched out, eyes wide open.

"Awake?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. I've slept enough."

"It's a long story," Cloud said over his shoulder to Auron. Without further preamble he sat down and began to disassemble his sword into many smaller ones.

"Interesting," Auron commented. "How many blades are there total?"

"Six. The base that the smaller five fit onto is the First Tsurugi. Handy to have." Pulling out a cloth and some oil with which to polish the First Tsurugi's workings, Cloud ran an eye over Auron's sword. The guardian took it everywhere with him, even in the middle of the night on a friendly airship. "Nice rig."

"It's seen me through a lot," Auron replied, not confirming the compliment but not feeling modest enough to deny it. "It was christened the Masamune."

Cloud started, then returned his attention to the First Tsurugi. "His sword's called that, too."

"His?"

"It's Cloud's language," Vincent spoke up. "If Cloud says 'him' or 'his' or 'he' without particular context, he's talking about Sephiroth."

"Duly noted," Auron said, seeing how Cloud's grip on the pommel of his sword tightened at the sound of the name.

"Now I get why he started a fight without any other reason," Cloud said. "Your sword's got the same name as his."

"He's vain, then."

"Maybe. I don't know. Maybe Sephiroth is so far gone that vanity and stuff like that don't mean anything to him. I know that he probably took your sword's name as an insult."

"You must know him very well."

"It's a long story."

"Cloud for 'don't want to talk about it,'" Vincent said.

"You're chipper this evening," Cloud said, his voice more reproving than bitter.

"I'm excited. Auron's given us an intriguing mystery."

"You never seemed this eager when we were saving the world," Cloud observed with a small smile.

"What can I say? I want to see where this goes."

Cloud shrugged. "Fair enough."

Auron said nothing. Vincent reminded him entirely too much of Seymour: powerful, intelligent, and severely damaged.

* * *

The next morning, everyone convened on the bridge, all of them looking sleepy but excited – with the exception of Yuffie, who just looked sick.

"We're here, Cloud," Cid announced. "Switchin' to dive mode."

Abruptly, Auron was in free fall as the _Shera_ dove, bridge-first, toward the surface of the ocean beneath them. Yuffie gave a low moan and started muttering to herself about her happy place.

Then there was the sound of a collision, and weight returned. Auron had never been weightless before, and the four or so seconds in which he had been were not pleasant. He thought he might have an inkling of what Yuffie felt like all the time on an airship.

He banished his queasiness. "Amazing. This is an amphibious craft?"

"If it weren't, we'd all be drowning right about now," Cid laughed.

"Pleasant image," Tifa said, the tiniest amount of strain sounding in her voice. "How far down, Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged. "No idea. Deep enough that you'd need underwater materia for the pressure, not just being able to breathe. The team mentioned that only one of the entrances is visible; they found the other one the same way the people in Bone Village do their excavations."

"Everyone keep your eyes peeled for a cave opening, then," Cid said, switching on the _Shera_'s running lights.

* * *

Reno strolled up to the door of the small office building. "You sure this is the place, Reeve?"

Cait Sith – which, much to the chagrin of Rude, now rode on the man's shoulder – nodded. "Yes," Reeve affirmed. "When he left Shin-Ra about a year before Meteor, our Mr. Sparks worked for a number of smaller corporations before finding a job at the accounting department here. He should be inside."

"Fair enough." Reno opened one of the doors and found himself under the sudden and intense scrutiny of a petite, pretty receptionist. Both Turks hesitated at the door, then Reno put on his best grin before swaggering up to her desk.

"Welcome," she said, ignoring Reno's expression. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

"We're with the Turks," Rude said, atypically getting in the first word. "We're here for some information."

"You two are Turks?" she asked, apparently unimpressed.

"Yes."

"I prefer the term _love machine_," Reno interrupted, his grin widening.

"What are you trying to find out?" the receptionist plowed on.

"Your name, phone number, and sign." When the girl gave him nothing more than a baleful stare, Reno straightened and stopped grinning, reverting to his usual smirk. "Actually, we're wondering if we can see Mr. Sparks. We're told he works here and we have some questions for him."

The woman's expression went from barely-disguised irritation to genuine pity, a transformation that made Reno's own grin waver. "I'm so sorry," she said. "But Zach – er, Mr. Sparks – is dead. Has been for almost a year."

Reno instantly stopped smirking. "_What_? How?"

"He didn't just work here – he was also a member of this archaeological team that was investigating some ancient sunken ruins. The last time he came in for work, he was saying that they were on the verge of something big. That was the last time any of us saw him. The entire team's been missing, probably dead, for almost a year."

No words issued from Reno's drooping jaw, but Rude summed his feelings up in a terse expletive: "Shit."

* * *

"Do you guys see that?" Cid asked.

Auron peered into the darkness and saw a very familiar cave mouth yawning in the beam of the _Shera_'s headlights. "I do. That's the entrance to Guadosalam, I'm positive." He turned to Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie, who had assembled near the bridge's exit. "Are you all ready?"

Cloud hefted the First Tsurugi, all five secondary blades attached to the base blade. "Ready as I'll ever be." Tifa readjusted the black leather gloves she wore and gave him a thumbs-up, and now that the airship was no longer moving Yuffie was feeling well enough to do a little skip in place.

"If Reno and Rude can get us more underwater materia, we'll come in after you guys if yer gone too long," Cid said. "If not, we'll sit tight and hope nothin' eats ya."

"Haw, haw," Yuffie snorted.

* * *

As soon as they were outside, Reno pulled out his cell and dialed Cloud's number.

"_We're sorry. This number is currently unavailable_."

"Damn!" he swore. "They must already be underwater." He looked at Rude.

"Time to 'borrow' a radio broadcast station?" Rude asked.

"'Borrow' is such a strong word. I prefer the term 'hijack.'"

* * *

It was a strange experience, Auron thought, being underwater while still being able to breathe and speak normally.

He'd walked along the bottom of the Moonflow once, just after he had died at Yunalesca's hands. He'd dragged himself across the world to meet Jecht – Sin – and ride him to the dream Zanarkand of the Fayth. The entire time he'd been half-delirious, his soul wavering between Spira and the Farplane, so when he'd arrived at the Moonflow, he hadn't bothered to stop. He had just plodded through it.

Auron decided it was just as well he'd been dead. The whole scene seemed surreal, the strangeness only heightened by the fact that he was entering a Guadosalam that was thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean.

"This is it for sure?" Tifa asked. Her voice was muffled, but still audible. Ordinarily the immense pressure crushing down on them would have made it impossible for voices to travel, but the underwater materia was effective.

"I'm absolutely positive," he replied, shifting his grip on the Masamune. "I remember this entrance, however, as being at the end of a path through a forest. It's strange to see it like this."

"It's strange no matter how you look at it," Yuffie thought out loud. "Let's go inside."

Cloud nodded and motioned them all forward.

* * *

"You can't just barge in here like this!"

A popular radio station owned the nearest broadcasting center. Reno and Rude had made their way there. So far, they hadn't needed to hurt anyone, but nobody had been very happy when two armed men had barged into the building and demanded the use of their transmitter.

Now the radio jockey originally slated for this time-slot was giving Reno trouble. He ignored the man's protests, but drew the line when the punk laid a hand on his shoulder.

Reno shoved his arm straight toward the man's face, elbow unbent. The small holdout pistol in his sleeve shot into his hand, propelled by the spring mechanism triggered by the unique motion. The man was abruptly looking down the barrel of a derringer.

"I hate using guns," Reno said, "but we're hijacking this station for the greater good. Complaints are to be sent down the barrel of this pistol. Be advised: inflammatory comments might cause a premature detonation to shoot you in the face."

Unsurprisingly, the jockey had no more objections.

Reno plunked himself down in the chair in front of the broadcasting equipment while Rude took up station behind him. Flipping open his cell, Reno consulted his notes and found the _Shera_'s emergency radio frequency.

* * *

"Reno to _Shera_. Reno to _Shera_. Acknowledge."

Cid took a drag on his cigarette and moved his boot from the top of the control console to bring his heel down on the TRANSMIT button. "Cid here. Got any materia for us, kid?"

"Forget the materia!" Reno yelled. "Don't head into the sunken city!"

"Ten minutes earlier and that would've been useful advice, Reno. Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and Auron're already inside."

"SHIT! Get them out of there!"

Cid sat up and frowned, while the rest of the party gathered around the console. "Why?" Vincent asked. "Looks harmless to me."

"The archaeological team that was trying to get into that city apparently succeeded," Reno said, speaking so fast that he was nearly running his words into one another. "The reason Cloud and Tifa never heard from them again was because all of them went missing right afterward. They're probably dead, and they've been that way for almost a year."

Cid leapt bolt upright; everyone else leaned closer to the radio. Cait Sith chose that moment to start speaking, though there was no movement accompanying it. "Guys, it's Reeve. Signal's a big shaky because there's an ocean in my way, so I'll be brief. When Auron mentioned this yesterday, I started doing some digging through the Shin-Ra restricted databases."

"Have you found something?" Red XIII asked.

"Yes. Sparks's team on it wasn't the first one to find this place."

* * *

It was like walking through a bad dream.

Guadosalam appeared much the same as it had the last time Auron had been here. Cheerful colors, the unique Guado architecture.

It was all underwater and there was nobody, no trace of anyone, to be found. The only light was cast by a deep-sea flashlight, as Cloud called the odd torch he'd brought. A long, bright beam of light cut through the darkness ahead of them, but bounced and refracted through the odd crystal substance used in Guadosalam's construction, turning the cave into a phantasmagoric panorama of light and shadow.

"There really is a city here," Yuffie said, apparently too surprised to mind stating the obvious. "Amazing."

"The portal to the Farplane is this way," Auron said, indicating the path.

They began to ascend the curving stone ramp.

* * *

"Years ago, a Shin-Ra sub found the entrance to the city," Cait Sith continued. "They sent in two men – one in a diving suit, the other with the standard-issue underwater materia that was in their sub. Apparently, something happened to the man with the materia. He had just enough time to say something about it fading before he imploded from the pressure."

"Fading?" Vincent asked, the first to get over the idea of death by implosion – or not affected by it in the first place. Nobody cared to guess which was the case.

"The man in the diving suit described it like the materia was dissolving into the water around it. When he got back to the sub and reported the existence of this place that eats materia, Shin-Ra naturally classified it and silenced everyone who knew about it. They weren't sure how it might be exploited, but they didn't want anyone else figuring out a way before them, so they left it as it was."

"Thanks for the info," Cid growled at the radio. "Switching frequencies now. Gotta warn Spiky."

* * *

"There it is," Auron said.

Before them loomed the portal to the Farplane, still majestic and awe-inspiring even when underwater.

Auron felt a strange tingling across his stomach. He looked down and saw a silvery strand of what looked to his eye like materia drifting from inside his coat.

"What the… my materia's acting weird!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"All of our materia is," Cloud said. "I'm having trouble breathing – what's going on?"

The light on the radio transmitter strapped to his belt began to blink. He grabbed it and held it up to his ear where the sound would be audible.

Faintly, he heard, "CLOUD! GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE! YOUR MATERIA'S GOING TO DISSOLVE!"

The look of shock that blossomed on Cloud's features was all Auron needed to see. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt his throat fail him. He could no longer draw breath. Cloud was trying to say something, but it was no longer audible. Auron felt pressure building up around him. It all added up to one thing: the underwater materia was failing.

Moving without thinking, aware only of the terrible pressure building around him, Auron grabbed Tifa and Yuffie by their collars, slammed his shoulder none too gently into Cloud's chest, and sent them all hurtling toward the portal to the Farplane.

* * *

"CLOUD, SAY SOMETHIN'!" Cid roared into the radio. "CLOUD! CLOUD!"

A red diode flashed on the panel. Beneath it, seeming to throb against the wood finish of the console, were the words SIGNAL LOST.


	3. Chapter III

"DAMN!" Cid shouted. "We lost them!"

Vincent vaulted across the bridge and began to head for the airlock. "I can check to see if they're dead or simply missing," he said, "but I can't stay out there for long. The pressure's too intense."

"Do it," Cid said, slipping unconsciously back into the leadership role he'd assumed when Cloud had been catatonic and Tifa had opted to stay at the young man's side. Flipping the radio back to its normal frequency, Cid said, "Sorry, Reno. We just lost their signal."

* * *

Reno slammed his fist down on the broadcast terminal in frustration. "Are you sure they're dead?"

"Vincent's checkin'," Cid replied. "He'll have news soon."

* * *

Vincent darted through the water. He could hold his breath for hours, he could see in total darkness, he didn't feel heat or cold in the same way as normal humans, and his body was impressively robust. Still, at depths this extreme, he couldn't stay for very long before he would begin to collapse in on himself from the pressure.

The party had left a trail in the sediment gathered on the floor. Following it, Vincent found himself before a large portal of some sort, presumably the one that caused materia to evaporate, dissolve, whatever the case was. Two steps away from it were the flashlight and radio transmitter Cloud had carried.

Vincent moved to examine the objects. The ground, though presumably made of rock, was covered in a thick layer of sediment that told him an interesting story. Turning round, Vincent read it from the beginning,

They had approached the portal, hesitated for an indeterminate amount of time – the bootprints were all deeper where they'd stood – and then Auron's bootprints deepened at the heels, Tifa's and Yuffie's disappeared, and Cloud's dragged through the sediment for half a foot before disappearing as well. The flashlight and radio transmitter had also drifted a small distance from where Cloud had stood before settling to the floor.

_All evidence points toward their entering the portal_.

Vincent immediately headed back the way he came. He was beginning to feel the pressure; his bones were creaking as he moved. The portal was tempting, but there would be time for that later. Right now, everyone needed to know what had happened.

* * *

Rufus sat in the meditation garden of his country retreat, a hilltop villa twelve miles from the Gold Saucer. He'd had it constructed when the first Geostigma outbreaks had occurred, thinking to retreat there until the stigma blew over.

It had been a less effective measure than he'd hoped.

His cell rang. Meditations or no, when his phone rang he picked up. Business before transcendence of the soul.

"Rufus here."

"It's Reeve. Listen, do you have any deepsea diving suits?"

Any normal man who was asked that question would probably ask if Reeve was drunk, but Rufus took it in stride. "Junon probably has some – nine or ten of them. Why?"

The phone crackled as Reeve sighed and began to explain, his voice forlorn.

* * *

Auron felt like he'd been the guest of honor in a Macalanian drum ritual: namely, the percussion instrument being played.

"Owww," Yuffie complained. "I feel like Barret sat on my head."

Cloud stirred with a groan and levered himself into a sitting position, blinked, and said, "Tifa! Where are you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine too," Yuffie groused. "Thanks for asking."

"I'm here," Tifa assured Cloud, getting up behind him. "What happened?"

Before Auron could answer, Yuffie shrieked. "MY MATERIA!"

"Our materia… dissolved," Cloud replied to Tifa, stolidly pretending not to hear Yuffie. "If Auron hadn't pushed us into this place, we'd have all died."

"Speaking of this portal…" Tifa trailed off.

They were standing in the Farplane.

Without thinking, they all strode to the edge of the stone platform and stared out into the higher realm. An endless field of flowers stretched beneath them, bisected by a river fed by thundering waterfalls that crested an impossibly high ridge.

"Incredible," Cloud breathed. "It's like the flowers in the church. I…" He stopped talking in shock as the image of Aerith blossomed in front of him.

"Whoever that may be, that's only a shadow," Auron said quickly. "Just an image, pulled from your memories by the pyreflies – those colored lights, there."

"Father… Master Zangan …"

Two men had materialized in front of Tifa, both smiling paternally at her.

In front of Yuffie, a beautiful woman with a striking resemblance to the ninja-girl appeared. Yuffie was swiping at her eyes, head bent low. "Mom… I'm sorry…"

Auron moved to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. Your mother's at peace." He looked up to see the images of Jecht and Braska, men closer to him than brothers – even though he would never admit it in Jecht's case. He suspected Jecht would never have admitted it, either.

"Who are they?" Yuffie asked, her voice still cracking a bit.

"Two good men sacrificed on the altar of false hope," Auron said bitterly. He turned away and did not look back.

He found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. A Guado held it, and the expression on his face could be generously described as unfriendly.

_A Guado. Somehow, we're in Spira_.

"How did you get in here?" the guard demanded. "The Farplane is off-limits at the moment!"

The rifle abruptly flew from his hands. Cloud had turned around, assessed the situation, pulled the First Tsurugi from his back, and swung it viciously in front of him. At the apex of his swing, he had unhooked one of the small, switchblade-like shortswords near the First Tsurugi's pommel. It rocketed into the rifle and ripped the weapon out of the Guado's hands, piercing through the wooden shaft and sticking in the rocky ground a few feet away.

"Hold!" Auron said. "He's not hostile." Turning his gaze on the Guado, Auron asked, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No, I don't have any idea who you are," the Guado said, fear in his eyes but his tone still sour. "Who do you think you…?" He trailed off, eyes widening, when Auron leaned forward and let his sunglasses slide down the bridge of his nose to reveal his missing eye.

"He looks like he's seen a ghost," Tifa said. Nobody laughed.

* * *

Reno roughly landed the chopper and jumped out before the rotors had come to a complete standstill. Rude followed him, readjusting his sunglasses, which had been upset by the landing.

"We head down to the underwater reactor, grab the suits, load them onto a sub, and take the sub out to the _Shera_," Reno said. "Clear?"

"Explain that to them," Rude replied. He was standing at the edge of the airfield, looking down.

Reno walked over to stand beside him and saw a huge military parade marching through the streets of Junon. They bore the town's standard on a large flagpole; mounted on the pole beneath the Junon flag was the Shin-Ra logo. It had been drawn onto a flag, then stepped on and slashed several times.

"You have to love notoriety," Reno sighed.

"There are other ways to the underwater reactor that don't involve public roads, but there could be more of these 'free spirits' waiting for us there," Rude observed.

"Then they get out of our way or we move them." Reno's cheerful, narcissistic façade had vanished. _I doubt Cloud and I will ever be friends, but he's a good guy. He's alive, presumably, and I'll help get him back_.

_Not to mention that girl Yuffie. She's all right_.

Reno didn't pause to reflect on why the ninja-girl was important to him. She reminded him of himself, after all, and he was his favorite person.

"Let's go!"

* * *

It had been Cloud restraining Auron when the aged guardian laid eyes on Tromell Guado.

"He's an old man!" Cloud bit out as he struggled to keep hold of Auron's arm – no mean feat, even for someone who could effortlessly wield the First Tsurugi.

"He's a traitor," Auron growled.

"Please, Sir Auron," Tromell said. "Must I fall upon your sword to calm you? We Guado have recognized our error, publicly, in following Lord Seymour. High Summoner Yuna has forgiven us, as has the People's Republic."

Auron finally relaxed. "I don't know about any People's Republic, but Yuna is a good judge of character… regardless of any occasional shortcomings." Cloud wondered why that seemed like a slap in the face to old Tromell, but made no comment.

Tromell gave Auron a bow. "Thank you, Sir Auron. I do not know how or why you were brought back, but please let us show you our hospitality. Your friends are welcome, of course."

Auron had an unpleasant flash of déjà vu, but nodded.

"And what are their names?"

Cloud stepped forward. "I'm Cloud Strife. This is Tifa Lockhart, and she's Yuffie Kisaragi."

Tromell nodded and grandly gestured outwards. "I am Elder Tromell Guado. Welcome to Guadosalam."

* * *

"Hey, partner," Reno said.

"Yeah?"

"When you said there were other routes to the underwater reactor…"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't think you meant sewers."

"Yeah."

Reno blew out a long breath and kept sliding through the effluvium that came up to his mid-calves. Rude followed, looking damnably unaffected by their poor surroundings.

Flipping open his cell, Reno eyed the GPS map. "According to my cell, we're directly underneath the main passage to the elevator that goes down to the underwater reactor." He looked up and found a manhole. "Alright, let's get out of this junk."

Rude moved forward and heaved the cover off of the manhole, then pulled himself out. Reno followed.

They found themselves standing in the middle of the pathway that led to the elevator. It was, fortunately enough, deserted except for the two of them.

Moving quickly, the two Turks made for the elevator, slid inside while checking to make sure there was no pursuit, turned around, and were treated to the sight of two armored militiamen pointing submachine guns at them.

Reno lashed out in a vicious kick that swept the muzzle of the submachine gun pointed at him towards the ceiling. The militiaman staggered backwards, firing, bullets thudding into the ceiling. With a different motion than the one that pulled his holdout Derringer, Reno brought his riot prod into his hand, extended it, and jabbed it into the man's gut, then pressed what he lovingly referred to as "the big red button."

Rude was more straightforward. As the militiaman in front of him began to fire, he pulled to his left, out of the path of the gun, then went in for a headbutt that would have made Reno cringe if he hadn't seen it before.

It still didn't look particularly pleasant to get hit by.

"Someone'll have heard the guns," Reno groused. He grabbed the man he'd taken down by the boots and unceremoniously dragged him out of the elevator. Rude, again more straightforward, grabbed his militiaman by the head and tossed him out.

Sliding back into the elevator, Reno hit the DOWN button. He took a moment to regard his soiled pants legs with a disgusted, aggrieved frown. "First thing I do when we get to the sub docks is stick my legs in the water."

Rude said nothing. It was better that way.

* * *

"Many things have happened since you were… _away_," Tromell said. They sat in the mansion that had belonged to Seymour and his father Jyscal.

"Speaking of," Auron said, "the décor in here has… changed."

Giant hearts covered the walls and the color scheme was an obnoxious pink and purple. When Auron had walked inside, he'd had to fight to keep himself from gagging. Either Tromell was out of his mind, or…

"A most regrettable incident," Tromell said. "While we Guado were in exile, a band of sphere hunters moved in here and made it their home. They extensively altered the interior of the house. When we returned, they were unwilling to leave, but we eventually forced them out. Since then, we have not had time to return this mansion to its original state."

Yuffie said, "This isn't its original state? Thank _god_."

Tromell glanced at her with an expression that could be annoyance or curiosity, but then returned his gaze to Auron. "I assume that, as a resident of the Farplane, you were on some level aware of what has come to be known as the Vegnagun Crisis."

"On some level," Auron agreed, not willing to speak of the matter any further.

"Since successfully resolving the crisis, High Summoner Yuna has returned to Besaid, where rumor has it that she has taken up residence with a young man purported to be one of her former guardians who had disappeared for some time."

"Unsurprising."

"Her other guardians have taken up residence in other parts of the world, with, I believe, the exception of Sir Wakka and Lady Lulu, who have conceived a child together on Besaid."

_That_ was a surprise. Auron would never have pegged Wakka and Lulu to become involved with one another.

"Beyond that, the Farplane, which we hoped would become more stable after the Vegnagun Crisis was resolved, has instead continued to destabilize. We may be forced to perform the Rite of Correction very soon."

"Rite of Correction?" Cloud asked.

"An ancient Guado rite where we close and reopen the portal to the Farplane," Tromell explained. "Oftentimes, in periods of instability, closing and reopening the portal will calm the Farplane. We Guado have no idea why – only the knowledge that it helps."

He looked up from the table they sat at, and Auron, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie turned to see that a young Guado aide had stepped into the room. "Begging your pardon, Elder Tromell, honored guests," he said, "but a young human bears urgent news from Besaid. He says High Summoner Yuna sent him."

"How fortunate," Tifa observed, a spark of laughter in her eyes.

"Send him in," Tromell said.

The aide bowed and left, and less than a minute later Tidus stepped into the room.

Tidus hadn't changed in the span of time between his return from the Farplane to be with Yuna and that particular point in time – Auron took it as confirmation that he hadn't been away for too long. The young man wore a serious expression, but his half-slouch and ruffled hair were vintage insouciant Tidus, and Auron couldn't help but wonder if his would-be protégé hadn't matured a bit in his mentor's absence.

When he saw Auron, he turned white, stumbled backwards, and tripped over his own feet. He made a series of incoherent noises while pointing at Auron with a trembling finger.

"A fine example of the intelligent, learned people of Spira you set for our guests," Auron deadpanned, though behind his sunglasses his good eye glittered with mirth. "Can't you recognize a miracle when you see one?" He slammed his gloved hand onto the table. "Get up!"

Tidus shot bolt upright as though he'd been electrocuted and shut up for a moment. He finally managed to get out a coherent sentence. "Auron! How'd you get here?"

"One might think you were unhappy to see me," the old guardian said.

"No, not at all! I just expected you to… well, stay dead." For the first time, Tidus seemed to notice the other people in the room. "Who're your friends?"

"I'm Cloud Strife," Cloud spoke up.

"Tifa Lockhart."

"Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Perhaps we should just procure all of you nametags so we don't need more introductions," Auron observed dryly. "Tidus, what do you have to tell Tromell? I suspect it should relate to our being here."

* * *

Grunting, Reno dragged the last deepsea diving suit onto the sub. His pants legs were soaking, which was a damned sight better than what they were doing before – probably hosting two or three dozen ecosystems.

"All systems are go," Rude told him. "We can depart at any time."

"Preferably before someone finds the two militiamen we decked," Reno agreed.

There was a rumbling noise, and Reno swore. "Great. That's probably the sub bay doors closing. They know we're here."

"No, it's the reactor," Rude said. "Look." He pointed to the tip of the underwater reactor in the distance.

The reactor lay dead and silent, not having been in use since Shin-Ra removed its Huge Materia for use against Meteor. Now, however, something was boiling out of its top.

A thick, black mist appeared in curling waves. It seemed to throb and pulsate as it gathered there, almost as though it was –

_Alive_.

Reno recognized that stuff; he'd seen it before. "That's not smoke," he said. "Those are free-floating JENOVA cells. What the hell are bits of the Calamity doing in a reactor? And why have they been dormant until now?"

"They might have only appeared there recently," Rude reminded Reno.

"Right, right. Only, the Killjoy Triplets never got in here, as far as anyone knows. And if they had Jenova cells to plant inside a reactor, why would they have needed Jenova's head? You're right about that stuff not being there very long, but I think it's only showing up now."

"Look," Rude interrupted him.

The Jenova cells began to spiral in on themselves, and they took on a hideous form. It swiveled to face the Turks, a dozen eyes zeroing in on them –

Reno stumbled backward. "SHIT! Let's GO!" He ducked inside the sub and closed the door behind him.

A moment later, the sub rocked and the wall in front of Reno was dented inward as the _thing_ outside smashed into it.

Rude gunned the engines of the sub and sent it shooting off, out of the hangar. Reno moved to the radio station and keyed it to the frequency of the transmitter Rufus kept on him. "Boss, this is Reno. Come in."

"Rufus here. What's your status, Reno?"

"We got the suits, but there were _JENOVA cells_ in the underwater reactor. They attacked us, too – we'd be in trouble right now if we hadn't decided discretion was the better part of valor. Worse, Junon's in a pretty anti-Shin-Ra mood right now, so we can't call them up and ask them nicely to seal off the underwater reactor from all contact."

"Cloud certainly could." Rufus' voice swelled with irritation; Reno assumed the irritation was directed at the situation they were in, and not at him or Cloud. "Get over to the _Shera_ as fast as you can and retrieve Cloud, or one of his party that'll do as well for getting a message off. If there's Jenova cells in a mako reactor, it means Sephiroth's involved, somehow, and that other reactors might be vulnerable. I'll send a lockdown signal to all the reactors still under my control."

"Gotcha, Boss," Reno acknowledged. "R and R, over and out."

* * *

"Something came out of Besaid Temple yesterday morning," Tidus was saying. "It started as a black mist, which was weird enough. Suddenly there was a lot more of it than there was a second before, and then where it had been there was a giant… well, _worm_."

Tromell's brow creased. "Describe it."

"Big, at least four meters long that I could see… though, if Yuna's right, it's a whole lot longer than that. It had a huge mouth, lots of teeth. A bunch of eyes above the mouth. It stuck its head out of the temple doors, then went back in and hasn't been seen since, but we're, y'know, worried."

Cloud leaned forward. "Black mist sounds like free-floating Jenova cells in atmosphere," he said. "What's Miss Yuna's theory on where this thing came from?"

Before Tidus could speak, Auron interrupted. "Let me guess," he said. "The Chamber of the Fayth, where there's a convenient portal to the Farplane."

Tidus nodded. "Ever since the Vegnagun Crisis, where there used to be fayth, there are now portals to the Farplane. The enemy in the Crisis used the portals to spew tons of fiends at people, and now whatever's controlling the worm has apparently taken his example, or just figured it out on its own."

Tifa's face was set in hard lines. "If anyone could figure out something like that, it would be _him_."

Cloud agreed. "Sephiroth."


	4. Chapter IV

Reno and Rude had just cleared the submarine bay and were out in open water. That was when they heard, even through thousands of tons of water and the armored submarine around them, a monstrous animal scream of pain.

"What the hell was that?" Reno asked. "Rude, picking up anything on sonar?"

Rude stared at the console for a moment, then motioned Reno over. "Recognize this silhouette?" he asked, bringing the image up on the main screen.

With a frown, Reno stared at it. Vaguely humanoid, huge, flaring shoulders, relatively thin torso, enormously thick legs…

_Oh, no_.

"What scale is this at?" Reno asked.

In response, Rude hit a small button on the console. A small blob appeared near the thing's right foot. "That's supposed to be a man of average height," he said, "but the thing's too big to render the silhouette of the man properly."

"Can we get a visual?"

Rude hit a rudder pedal and swung the sub around, then hit the button again.

The image of a nightmare-in-progress replaced the silhouette. Emerald WEAPON, which had lain dead and rotting on the seafloor for two years at this point, was standing up, the eyes in its massive shoulders blinking. Reno didn't think it possible; even if it was a so-called protector of the Planet, it shouldn't be able to get back up after the beating it looked to have taken.

It was at that point that he saw the black stream arcing from the underwater reactor, through a hole in the protective dome, into Emerald's chest.

One of the leg-appendages fell off, too rotted through at the hip joint to remain attached to the body. Emerald tottered, then straightened as more of the black JENOVA mist began to stream through the opening to take the leg's place. Reno looked closer and saw that JENOVA cells were boiling out of every laceration and wound the massive creature had taken, regenerating all of them. The eyes on the shoulders slowly changed color from blue to a deep, midnight black.

"Sephiroth is… _taking control_ of Emerald?" Reno murmured. "On a scale of one to ten, we're screwed."

Rude, in the process of examining the image, realized the WEAPON was staring at them.

"Shit."

A massive projectile coalesced in front of Emerald and shot at them, coming far too fast to avoid.

* * *

"It makes sense," Auron murmured. "I encountered Sephiroth in the Farplane. The Farplane refuses to stabilize even after Vegnagun is gone. And now this thing you call JENOVA is appearing as huge worms in temples that happen to have portals to the Farplane. I sincerely hope I'm not the only one seeing the coincidences."

"We've never seen JENOVA cells take the form of worms before," Yuffie observed.

"We've never been dealing with what well could be JENOVA cells acting on their own before, either," Tifa countered. "Sephiroth could be in this world's Farplane, true, but there's an equally good chance that these JENOVA cells are reverting to instinct."

"If that were the case, they'd already be walking around taking the forms of people's dead loved ones to try to get close to victims," Cloud disagreed. "I don't think people tend to love worms. That's more bird territory."

"I've seen birds that could probably tackle that thing," Tidus laughed.

"That line of thought leads to dangerous waters," Auron agreed with Cloud, ignoring Tidus's comment. "Tidus here was, until recently, dead. He emerged from the Farplane as a whole, living being with the help of the fayth. I've been dead for a long time, and yet here _I_ am. Who better for JENOVA cells that want to get close to Yuna to impersonate than her legendary guardian – or her lover?"

Yuffie gave a too-complicated-for-me frown. "Let's just say Sephiroth is in control to keep things simple. That still leaves a lot of questions. Why is he here, in this world? How did he get here? Where is he getting all these JENOVA cells?"

"Tromell and me are still in the dark on the Sephiroth and JENOVA thing, too," Tidus interrupted. "He's just too polite to say anything."

"Or perhaps he got our hints that we'd explain everything and chose patience instead of mouthing off," Tifa replied sweetly.

Yuffie's characteristic snigger was very loud in the immediately following silence. Tidus held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You got me."

* * *

"Hang on," Rude said. He slapped a control and blew all the air out of the starboard ballast tank. The sub was shoved to port, strafing out of the way of Emerald's projectile, which screamed by and slammed with incredible force into the rocky face of the central continent's underwater slope. Reno stumbled for a moment, then grabbed hold of a chair to steady himself.

"How are we supposed to even _fight_ this thing?"

"Can't," Rude replied.

"Say _what_?"

Rude looked embarrassed. "Not in this sub, partner. I say we leave."

Another shot screamed toward them. "Good idea," Reno said. "Dodge it dodge it dodge it _dodge it!_" Rude repeated the maneuver he'd pulled before, blowing the oxygen out of the port tank and slewing them hard to starboard.

"Get ready to pull water into the ballast tanks. We want to drop like a stone and then go to full acceleration."

"Roger, partner," Reno acknowledged. He had no experience with subs; better to let someone who knew how to handle it pilot.

Then it occurred to him that he didn't know if Rude had any experience, either.

"Hey, partner. _Do_ you know how to pilot one of these?"

Emerald tried another projectile.

"Pull water to the tanks _now_," Rude said. Reno hit the EMERGENCY DIVE button and the sub pulled several tons of water into the ballast tanks within two seconds. It began to drop wildly, and Reno watched their depthfinder, not particularly wanting to crash into the shallow ocean floor. At sixty meters' depth gained, he hit EMERGENCY STOP and the sub dumped the water even faster than it had pulled it in. Rude cranked the engine to full blast, shooting the sub forward at breakneck speed.

Emerald WEAPON fired a fourth projectile, then it changed tactics and fired off lasers with all four of its eyes at once.

The projectile overshot the sub and blew a huge crater in the seafloor. The lasers, however, crossed the distance between Emerald and the sub in a fraction of the time it took the projectile to do so.

Granted, the sub _was_ going at a good clip, so the lasers struck it higher up on its fuselage than WEAPON – or Sephiroth, whichever one was in control at this point – was aiming for, but the damage was still done. Reno guessed the sub's armor would have been able to take one laser, maybe two, but all four hitting the same point was a no-go. There was the sound of screaming metal and water rushed into the rear compartments of the sub. Reno cursed and hit the emergency cockpit seal, slamming the pressure door shut between them and the onrushing water.

Worse than getting sealed into the cockpit and separated from the suits they'd waded through sewage to get was the immediate aftereffect of the breach. The less immediate aftereffect became apparent shortly after that. The sub's tail end began to dip down in the water, aiming the nose up. It had been on a course straight between Emerald's legs, but now it was aiming for…

Reno rubbed at his eyes. "Death by WEAPON Crotch. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."

Rude didn't give any indication of amusement or chagrin. He simply said, "Hold your breath."

Water suddenly blew into the cockpit seemingly from nowhere. Reno had time to take a sharp breath before he was submerged in freezing water. Rude stayed seated, still tapping out commands on the sub's control console, apparently unconcerned.

The water filling the cockpit balanced the sub's weight. It resumed its straightline course between Emerald's legs and cleared them with perhaps ten meters between itself and what Reno thought would be a ridiculous thing to die by.

Quickly, the water drained out of the cockpit. Reno spat water out of his mouth, but realized he had water in his ears. _Well, at least I'm not dead._

"How'd you do that, partner?" he asked.

"The sub's got emergency drainoff systems in the cockpit in case there's a manageable breach. I just reversed the pump flow and took the water in instead of out to balance our weight. We can head to the surface and patch the breach now, assuming Emerald doesn't feel inclined to take up sniping."

Reno blew out a long, relieved breath. "Guess that's another one I owe you. But you didn't answer my question."

"Cloud and his friends managed to sink a Shin-Ra sub without any prior training whatsoever. I figured it couldn't be that hard."

"So you just risked our lives on a hunch that it couldn't really be that hard to pilot a multimillion-gil piece of equipment."

"Yes."

"Would you be okay with it if I said I wanted to have your babies?"

"No."

"Oh." Reno sat back in his chair, felt the silence mounting. "Never mind then."

Rude said nothing. It was always better that way.

* * *

"If I understand this correctly," Tromell said, "this Sephiroth is presumably in the Farplane, so he could strike with these minions of his from any portal – including the one here in Guadosalam."

"That's the short version of the story, yes," Cloud confirmed. "You say you're capable of closing a portal and reopening it. Could you close one and _not_ reopen it?"

"Possibly," Tromell replied, "but the Guado people would not take kindly to closing the portal here. It is one of the great legacies of our race. I could call upon my authority as Elder and close it myself, without the circumstance and ritual, but they would not take kindly to that, either."

"So let's have you see if you can close one of the portals outside of Guadosalam," Tidus said. "Like, say, the one on Besaid."

Auron looked at the young man, amused. "Your whole purpose was to lure Tromell to Besaid so he could perform the Rite of Correction, minus the reopening, on the Besaid portal, wasn't it?"

"Not so much 'lure' as 'bring,' but yeah."

"Well, no point in sitting around any longer," Cloud said suddenly. "Let's go."

This, naturally, took the rest of them by surprise. "To this Besaid?" Tifa asked.

"Yes. If that's the only portal that Sephiroth has access to right now, I'd like a chance to examine it before it's closed, and it _would_ be nice if we were there in case the JENOVA worm returned."

"Great," Tidus exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "I just so happen to have a lift standing by."

"Give me an hour to set my affairs in order here and delegate responsibilities to my protégé, and I will join you," Tromell said.

"Then it's settled," Auron observed. "To Besaid."

* * *

Rufus's cell rang.

The young Shin-Ra president picked up. "This is Rufus."

"Rufus, it's Tseng. We have a situation."

Rufus resisted the urge to curse. A situation was the last thing he wanted when it came to the Project.

Tseng and Elena, after the attack on Edge City, had been sent off for some recuperation time in the form of babysitting the Project. The Project itself was simple enough: revive, or more accurately, _reconstruct_ Ruby WEAPON and get it under control by replacing its brain with a WRO-controlled central processor.

The Project had been in the works for more than a year at this point. Rufus, back when he was still actually injured from the explosion at Shin-Ra HQ and not just faking it, had been told that Cloud and his party had killed the Ruby and Emerald WEAPONs. Emerald's corpse was at the bottom of the ocean and was of little use, as initial examination revealed no trace of a brain that they could replace – not to mention the damage Cloud and company had inflicted on Emerald was far in excess of what they'd done to Ruby. This was not to say that Ruby was undamaged, simply that it was more suitable for the Project due to its construction and relative lack of harm. Both its arm-tentacles had been torn off and its neck was broken, but it could all be replaced or fixed.

So Rufus had had Tseng approach Dio and volunteer WRO services for removing the large, ugly, red, dead thing in his desert. The man had been more than happy to accept and even pay them for their efforts; nobody wanted to ride the gondola any more because a rotting WEAPON corpse did not provide a dramatic backdrop for the Gold Saucer.

Of course, this was all with Reeve's approval, but Rufus was the one in direct charge of the Project. He still had some say where his company's money went and how it was handled.

Ruby was sealed away in a top-secret, gargantuan series of natural caves beneath the ocean at the south pole of the planet. Shin-Ra, or what was left of Shin-Ra, had installed the largest scientific complex in the world there, and were busy reconstructing the monster so it could be used for defense in case of another planetary crisis.

"What's the problem?"

"An infestation of JENOVA cells."

Rufus gave in. "_Shit_. I wasn't aware we had any mako reactors in the complex there."

"We don't. Everything's on hydroelectricity. However, there's a deep fissure in one of the caves we don't use. We thought we'd sealed the cave off properly, but apparently whoever was in charge did a lousy job. JENOVA cells are moving from the fissure into Ruby, and it's looking very bad right about now."

"Get everyone out of there and then blow the complex. It's designed to completely wipe out Ruby in case something goes wrong."

"We're already halfway done with evacuation. I took the liberty of enacting evac protocols before I called you."

"Good job. Keep me informed."

Rufus ended the call and frowned to himself. _Not good._ The idea to use one of the dead WEAPONs hadn't occurred to him as soon as he'd heard of Ruby's and Emerald's respective demises. The idea had actually occurred to him when he'd heard of the spectacular failure of Scarlet's Proud Clod. She'd assured him that the mech would be the core of Shin-Ra's defense against both WEAPON attacks and heavy military action, but Cloud had gone and destroyed it himself.

_The combination of a WEAPON and Shin-Ra machinery, as well as a computer brain, would be a powerful defensive measure indeed. Cloud would probably still be able to take it down, but that's not an issue any more now that we're allies_.

His phone rang again.

"Rufus here."

"It's Reno again, boss," the red-haired Turk's voice squawked over the other end of the line. "We got major problems. That JENOVA junk that was coming out of the underwater reactor –"

"– has resurrected Emerald WEAPON."

"What? How'd you know?"

"We're experiencing a similar situation with the Project. Hopefully the self-destruct works as it should and takes out Ruby completely."

He heard what could have been a curse, and then, more clearly, "If Sephiroth gets his claws in both WEAPONs, we could be facing a major crisis. They weren't really moving with any overall goal back when Cloud fought 'em, but with Sephiroth in control…"

"Get to the _Shera_ and do all you can to get Cloud back," Rufus said. "I'm sure the world of this Auron you've told me about is interesting, but I doubt they have anything as bad as the WEAPONs for Sephiroth to control."

* * *

There was nobody in the Omega Ruins to notice a long strand of black mist, which had been working its way steadily across the ocean from Remiem Temple in the Calm Lands.

The strand wended its way through the labyrinthine corridors until it came to the vast basement level of the dungeon, where the summoner Yuna and her guardians had fought the monster Omega. The fiend's corpse lay where it had been felled, slowly rotting away. With Omega's spirit gone, it had been just an empty husk.

Now the strand worked its way in through one of the gaping wounds in the fiend's flank, and life gleamed in its eyes again.

* * *

The journey to Besaid was a short one. Tidus's "transportation" was the _Celsius_, the airship of the Gullwings. While Yuna was no longer a member per se, the almost painfully perky sphere hunters were more than willing to give everyone a lift.

Everyone had been introduced to everyone else, short explanations had been given, and Rikku had been shaken back to consciousness when she fainted from seeing Auron alive and well.

Now they were on Besaid, standing outside the village. The temple, a relatively massive edifice, loomed up before them.

"You're back early."

Lulu was waiting for them at the entrance. Tidus grinned and said, "It didn't take much to convince Tromell to come."

"I see you've brought some friends."

"I can explain that," Auron said, stepping forward out of the group. Lulu locked gazes with him and went white.

"How… Sir Auron…"

"A very long story that I think we'll recount to you when we're inside," Auron cut her off, smiling faintly to take any sting out of the words. "We can make introductions then, as well." His gaze shifted to the temple, and he stiffened.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, following Auron's gaze. When he saw what had riveted Auron, he unslung the First Tsurugi and charged quick as lightning, shooting by Lulu and pounding toward the temple. Auron was close behind, and it took the rest of the group only another moment to realize who stood on the temple steps.

"SEPHIROTH!" Cloud roared, pushing off in a jumping thrust intended to skewer the young man through his lower back.

To everyone's surprise, the attack landed. The First Tsurugi slashed through Sephiroth, shooting out his front side. Black mist exploded out from the wound, and Sephiroth laughed.

"Don't bother, Cloud. This body is just a crude construction of JENOVA cells." He turned even as the sword stayed inside him, his body liquefying into viscous black at the torso to allow the motion. He grinned demonically at his nemesis, his eyes locked with Cloud's. "It's an old trick."

"Then you won't mind my imposing," Auron said, stepping up beside Cloud. Without any warning he viciously bashed Sephiroth's head off with the broad side of Masamune. The young man's head was reduced to black paste.

_A good try, but this body is just a puppet. Damaging it in one area over another won't make any difference_. His voice sounded in their minds; Sephiroth was exercising the JENOVA cells' capacity for telepathy. The body turned its shoulders toward Auron, and one could see the neck muscles moving. If the body still had a head, it would be turned to face Auron, cocked slightly to the side. _Mark my words. Before this is over, I'll destroy that annoying sword of yours. No blade save mine is worthy of the name_.

The body twisted back around to look, squarely, at Tromell. It was easy to tell it was focusing on him even without eyes. _They've brought you here to close the portal. We can't have that._

"Tromell, LOOK OUT!" Auron bellowed.

It seemed too late. Faster than seemed possible, the JENOVA body reformed itself into a long, sinuous, twisting tentacle with a very sharp point. It flexed and thrust at Tromell, intending to skewer the old Guado through the mouth. Tidus began to slide into its path, sword at the ready, though he had little hope of deflecting it.

That was when Lulu hit it with a large bolt of lightning.

All of them winced as a hideous scream ripped its way into their minds. The tentacle literally melted, losing all cohesion and slopping to the ground in a large, black puddle. Lulu hit the puddle with another bolt. The scream was louder and even worse this time, but the puddle convulsed horribly and then stopped moving altogether.

A third bolt produced no reaction. The JENOVA cells were dead.

Lulu looked dryly at Auron. "I suppose you should start the explanation now," she said, her tone biding no argument.

"It's a long story," Auron said.


	5. Chapter V

Hello again, good readers. I apologize for the lack of updates and review replies this past week; it was Spring Break and I was in no condition to write anything. With that out of the way, though, we return to our regularly scheduled fic. Enjoy!

* * *

Had he not been so comfortably settled in his chair, Cid might have jumped for joy when he saw the sonar signal of an incoming sub. Sure, he was happy that they'd be able to make contact with Cloud now, but more to the point, it was finally a change in the routine. Being cooped up on the _Shera_ with Barrett, Vincent, Red XIII, and a mostly-inoperative Cait Sith was a strenuous exercise in patience.

The radio crackled. "This is R and R," Reno's voice came in. "Anybody awake over there?"

Cid shifted his boot and settled his heel on the SEND button. "Yup. 'Bout damn time you two got here, too. What the hell kept ya?"

"We had to do a little dance with an old friend of yours," Reno replied, the sarcasm permeating his voice unable to completely conceal his worry. "Maybe you remember him? His name's Emerald WEAPON."

With a start, Cid sat up, hitting the SEND button with his hand. "You goddamn kiddin' me? We hit that thing so hard its mother prob'ly felt the aftershocks. It was _dead_."

"Want to hear the best part? It was JENOVA cells that revived it."

"You have got to be shitting me, boy."

"Unless my eyes, Rude's eyes, and the sub's sonar _and_ main display were all malfunctioning, I'd say we're right. Oh, and Emerald also gave us a lovely hole in the aft section of the sub. It's like getting a love nip from a woman with superpowered lasers for teeth."

"The _Shera_ might be able to take ol' Greenie on if we had some time to prepare," Cid said.

"We're fairly sure it didn't follow us, but never mind that. We've got diving suits for you, since underwater materia won't do you much good when it comes to that portal."

"Auron, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie made it in even while their materia died, 'least accordin' to Vincent," Cid responded. "Still, can't be too careful. The suits'll do just fine."

"We're going to come, too. Our orders are to get Cloud back so he can help fight Emerald."

"Suit yerself, sonny. We ain't all goin' in at once, though. We'll send teams of two in to see if they can get Cloud, Tifa, an' Yuffie back – Auron, too, if he wants to come. If those two don't come back, we'll send in two more, and so on."

"What a stupid idea," Reno said flatly. "We should all go in at once."

"You can obey my orders," Cid growled at the radio, "or you can do your best gettin' to the portal without a diving suit. So long as you're on my ship, you'll follow my orders. Or you could suit up and go in yourselves right now – both ways're good."

There was no reply for several seconds, and Cid could see in his mind's eye Reno sitting there with a disgusted look on his face. Finally, the young Turk said, "All right. We'll do it your way. Rude and I are bone tired anyhow."

* * *

Deep beneath the ocean at the south pole of the world, Ruby WEAPON woke.

The complex housing it was deserted, with fifty seconds left before the massive amount of explosives layered throughout the cave system would completely annihilate anything within a hundred-mile radius.

Ruby began to plod forward on stiff legs. The WRO engineers were brilliant, but they had little comprehension of how to rebuild one of the largest and most complex forms of life known to man. The creature's massive knees had both been shattered beyond repair, so they had been replaced with enormous servomotor actuator joints made of solid titanium.

Its arms and "hands" had been irrecoverable, so the engineers had grafted the tentacles into huge, multi-jointed whipcord arms. The neck, broken at the middle joint, had been straightened, stabilized and repaired using a crude framework graft. Bits of metal stuck out of Ruby's neck in odd places, enough so that one could picture the cylinder, made of hundreds of interlocking titanium rods, wrapped around the shattered vertebrae.

Its macabre, grinning head was left mostly intact, with a large hole drilled into the left cranial hemisphere and then sealed by what was essentially a titanium manhole cover that was connected into the creature's cybernetic nervous system. A green light blinked on the round cover, indicating the creature was operational. Inside, the creature's original brain had been penetrated by thousands of microfilaments that hooked it into the new nervous system. Once the connections were all complete, they had been intending to replace the brain, bit by bit, with their computer core system.

The JENOVA cells had interrupted them.

There was little the JENOVA cells could do to repair Ruby. All the artificial components of the beast would have to be extricated before regeneration could begin. Instead, the JENOVA cells devoted their efforts to completely absorbing the energies of the creature's replacement core. Where there had once burned a crimson light in the center of Ruby's torso, there was now a Huge Materia, salvaged from the reactor that AVALANCHE had destroyed. Its existence had been kept top secret, and it had been sent into storage rather than be used against Meteor. Now it powered the reborn Ruby WEAPON, supplying energy to both the WEAPON's organic and inorganic components.

Though no conscious will was being exercised upon the cells themselves, they knew instinctively that any energy they did not leech from the Huge Materia would be lost to them when Ruby WEAPON arrived at its destination.

The cells occupying the WEAPON's mind, however, were a channel for their master. Driven forward by a will far greater than its own, Ruby WEAPON approached the door blocking access to the massive fissure from whence the JENOVA cells came.

Forty seconds.

A stroke from one of its arms smashed through twenty feet of steel. It brought the other arm to bear and its tentacles shot forth from the whipcord attachments, widening the hole it had made.

Thirty seconds.

The horrible sound of screaming metal ripped through the caverns as the steel was torn apart by the WEAPON. It made itself a hole big enough to pass through.

Twenty seconds.

Ruby WEAPON moved through the hole, walking, still stiffly, to the edge of the fissure. The actuator joints that replaced its knees did not work properly; they only bent in forty-five-degree intervals due to the difficulty of converting brain impulses into cybernetic movement orders. If its brain had been replaced with the cybernetic core already, the arms and knee joints would have been just as flexible as the WEAPON's organic parts had been, and it would have been invulnerable to domination by JENOVA cells to boot. Too little, too late.

Ten seconds.

It craned its neck to look down into the fissure. How far down the gash in the earth descended was impossible to tell, but at the very bottom, the faint green glow of the Lifestream could be seen.

Three seconds.

With a heave, Ruby WEAPON threw itself over the edge, plummeting down, down, down, down…

* * *

It was midnight in Spira, and the world slept.

One of the few exceptions was Praetor Baralai. After the foundation of the People's Republic of Spira, the three already-existing factions – New Yevon, the Youth League, and the Machine Faction – had become the separate political parties of the Republic. Now they were known as the Yevon Party, the Youth Party, and the Machine Party. Each was headed by its respective leader from its days before the Republic: Baralai was Praetor of the Yevon Party, Nooj was Meyvn of the Youth Party, and a reluctant Gippal had been cajoled into becoming Mechanist of the Machine Party.

The Republic operated out of Bevelle. Though still in the initial stages of its birth, it already possessed considerable influence throughout Spira. Baralai was, essentially, one of the three most powerful political figures in the world. The number was really four, if one counted Yuna, but she had refused actual political power.

Baralai had been having trouble sleeping, the past few days. An odd weight seemed to press down on him. Whether it was the heavy burden of responsibility or perhaps an ailment he was catching, it kept him up. When this happened, Baralai usually went to the old chamber where Vegnagun had been kept. It was an isolated place, and though the largest Farplane portal in existence stretched open beneath him, it did not mean much to him.

This time, however, when Baralai was in the midst of his ruminations, something happened.

A black mist rose up from the portal to pool, like liquid, on the metal platform extending out over the emptiness. At first, Baralai did not see it.

When it began to take a humanoid form, it became very hard to miss.

Baralai drew back, adrenaline hitting him like a ton of bricks. He pulled out his weapon, a cross between a staff and a double-bladed sword, with the capacity to extend from the center base as necessary. It was able to triple in length from end to end as he wished.

"Who are you?" he asked the thing standing in front of him.

A huge sword appeared in its hands, and its features resolved into those of a young man with long grey hair and beautiful features, marred by the poison and malevolence in his eyes.

"Identify yourself!" Baralai challenged it – him – again.

Sephiroth stared at Baralai. "There is no need to name myself to someone who is about to become irrelevant."

Baralai took one step forward, tripling the length of his staff, and swung straight at Sephiroth's head.

The blow never landed. Sephiroth brought up the hilt of his blade and stopped Baralai's attack cold against its end. He lunged forward, bringing his sword around for a thrust, already inside Baralai's defenses due to the length he'd extended his staff to. Baralai ducked beneath the pinpoint thrust against his forehead and Sephiroth brought his knee up, battering it against the young Praetor's chin, slamming him onto his back. Baralai saw stars for a moment. His vision cleared in time to see his opponent's boot coming down.

Then Sephiroth crushed his heel into Baralai's forehead, knocking the young Praetor out. The bladed staff fell from senseless fingers.

Sephiroth's form collapsed into a black cloud. He'd gleaned the young man's position from his mind using the telepathic power of the JENOVA cells. _I can make good use of this boy – and this portal, as well. _

The JENOVA cells swirled around Baralai and enveloped him.

* * *

Cloud woke with a start, his mind coming to full alert in an instant.

He kept the fact secret by immediately closing his eyes again and resisting the urge to move. Somebody was in the small house that Tidus and Yuna inhabited. Yuna, they'd been told by Lulu after introductions ended, had been picked up by a man by the name of Cid on his airship, the _Fahrenheit_, to go to an island called Kilika. Neither Yuna nor Cid had said why they were going, just to expect them back the next day.

Tidus had offered Cloud and Auron the two beds in the house he normally shared with Yuna – one bed for the two of them and one guest bed – but Auron had refused, saying he would go sleep in the Crusaders' Lodge, which was now the makeshift inn for the still-small village. Cloud had accepted graciously, which was the least he felt he could do. Tifa and Yuffie had gone to sleep in the guest beds in Lulu's house, since her husband, Wakka, was off in Luca playing a game by the name of blitzball. They'd all agreed to wait until Yuna got back for introductions and explanations.

Now Cloud felt someone in the house.

Whoever it was, he was entering quietly, trying not to be heard. The only concession to her status that Yuna had allowed was the construction of a two-story house for her and Tidus. Tidus slept on the top floor in the master bedroom, while Cloud was on the bottom floor in the guest bedroom.

Slowly, very slowly, he reached for the First Tsurugi, which lay against the side of the bed opposite the door. Moving with inhuman precision, Cloud detached the two serrated-edge blades from the spine of the main blade.

The intruder continued moving, bypassing Cloud's room in favor of the stairwell.

Continuing to move at a snail's pace, Cloud pulled himself out of the bed. He wore nothing but a light under-shirt that covered his torso, leaving his arms bare, and his pants, which were thin enough that they weren't uncomfortable as bedwear. His usual accoutrements would have made noise, but he was completely silent now.

The intruder paused for a moment, though Cloud was sure that he hadn't made any noise. The man must simply have been getting his bearings in the pitch blackness of the house. Cloud swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood.

Beneath his feet, the floor creaked, loudly enough that it could probably be heard from upstairs in the total silence of the night. The intruder, barely visible in the darkness, snapped his head around toward Cloud's room, and an arm went to behind his back, probably for a weapon.

_Well, shit. So much for the stealthy approach_.

With a roar that would hopefully wake Tidus and alert him to the fact that there was an intruder in the house, Cloud lunged through the doorway straight at his foe, both blades closing in on him. The intruder pulled a staff from his back and blocked both of Cloud's strikes at once, visibly stumbling under the impact, though he remained no more than a silhouette. Cloud drew back and struck again in a one-two staggered attack that would take off his enemy's head and bisect him at the waist. His swords slammed into a magic barrier and rebounded, and he felt the staff take him in the gut and blow the air out of his lungs. _Damn! _ His opponent knew magic, which everyone native to Spira seemed to be able to use, while Cloud was left without any materia.

Backpedaling, Cloud tried to get some distance between himself and his opponent. The intruder lunged, staff whirling. Cloud solidly blocked his blow with one sword and slashed out with the other, but his blow again hit a barrier and rebounded.

Then his vision went completely dark.

This was more than pitch blackness; Cloud could not see at all. A thick mist covered his eyes. He swore – more magic. In the half-second his guard was down, he took another blow to the sternum and then was blown backward by a tremendous magical force. He braced himself for impact with a wall and instead sailed in a full parabolic arc that ended in contact with hard dirt.

_He sent me through a window_.

Cloud jumped to his feet, swords at the ready, and listened intently. A moment later he heard the sound of boots hitting dirt, directly in front of him. Reacting without thinking, Cloud drew back his right-hand sword, focused, and brought it down to connect with the ground in a Blade Beam. The light shone through the mist in front of his eyes for a moment before it slammed into the intruder's barrier and expended its energies against it. Cloud heard the sound of a stumble and then the faint _thud_ of the enemy's back hitting the wall; _you weren't expecting that, were you? Materia or no, I can still do _this!

His follow-up lunge with his left-hand blade met no barrier, but instead thudded into the wall of Tidus's and Yuna's house. The enemy was twisting away, and if the sound of whistling air was any clue, was also bringing around his staff to connect firmly with the back of Cloud's head. Cloud ducked instinctively and heard the satisfying _crack_ of the weapon on wood, then thrust out with his right-hand blade, ready for the barrier he knew was now up again.

The instant he felt the point of the serrated blade make contact with the barrier, he slowed his wild thrust to a gentle push. Magic barriers, unless they were modulated with extreme care, would only block hard impacts. A careful swordsman could get his blade through a barrier if he slowed himself at the last moment, inserting his blade _into_ the barrier itself, which rendered it null.

Cloud felt his sword slip inside the barrier, and he continued his lunge, pushing off with his right foot and thrusting his weapon up below the enemy's chin.

"Move and I'll kill you," Cloud warned. This was a gamble; if his opponent was made of JENOVA cells that were capable of channeling this world's magic, a thrust into its throat, or _anywhere_ for that matter, would do little to hurt it. However, if it was something or someone else, he might be able to answer a few questions. "Drop the staff and get this fog out of my eyes. NOW!"

The sound of the staff being dropped sounded in Cloud's ears a moment before the magic fog dissipated.

When it did, Cloud drew in a sharp breath of surprise. The person he was an inch away from striking dead was no man, but instead a woman – a young one, probably in her late teens. She had shoulder-length brown hair, with the exception of a long braid that swept down to her feet. Her features were quite beautiful, though she was obviously not looking her best at the moment. What struck Cloud immediately, though, was her eyes: her left eye was a deep, cerulean blue, and her right eye was a sea green.

Half a moment later, Tidus appeared behind Cloud. He wore nothing but a wool robe and looked like a man who had just woken up to find his house was on fire.

When he saw Cloud holding a sword to Yuna's throat, he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill Yuna?"

Cloud immediately felt his stomach turn itself inside out and a knife begin to chew its way through his guts. _Oh, no._

He looked over his shoulder at Tidus. "Yuna? As in, High Summoner Yuna?" he asked, dreading the answer he already knew.

"Of course! Who else?"

Cloud wrenched his gaze back to the young woman, a sort of dull embarrassment flooding over him. He stood, removing his left-hand sword from where it was embedded in the wall and his right-hand sword from her throat. After a moment of indecision, he said, "Um. I'm really sorry." It seemed the best thing to start out with.

Yuna put her hands on her hips and regarded him warily. "Who are you, and what were you doing in my house?"

Tidus stepped hastily forward. "It's a long story, Yuna. His name's Cloud, and he's a friend."

"I was sleeping when I heard you come in," Cloud tried to explain. "We were told you weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow, and there's a possibility of an attack here from an enemy of mine, so I assumed the worst."

Yuna assumed a more relaxed pose. "Well, no harm done, then."

"What about the window?" Tidus squawks, but a look from Yuna shuts him up.

"Let's start over, yes?" she asks. "With a _clean slate._"

_At least she has a sense of humor_.

With a nod and a sheepish smile, Cloud leaned his swords against the wall of the house and extended his hand to her. "I'm Cloud."

She took it with a smile. "Yuna. Pleased to meet you."


	6. Chapter VI

"This is uncomfortable," Red XIII groused.

The second-eldest member of the party, though he was no more than a teenager by his species' standards, stood on his hind legs in one of the deepsea diving suits that Reno and Rude had brought. It covered him up to his neck, where the helmet would be affixed, but it was obviously made for someone with hands and feet, not someone who traveled on all fours.

"Quitcher bitchin'," Cid growled back at him, struggling to secure the suit perfectly. "Vincent's the only one who don't need one, which is why he's with you – he'll make sure you get yer four-legged ass through."

Leaning against the wall in a corner of the bridge, Vincent didn't laugh – not that Cid expected him to. "Red XIII's more than capable of taking care of himself."

"Better safe than dead. Ready?"

Vincent shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Red XIII nodded. "Hopefully the helmet won't be too bad a fit."

"All right. Listen up, you two. I'm givin' you twenty-four hours to see if you can find Cloud and the others back – and Auron, too, if for some reason he doesn't wanna stay. Take longer'n that, and the resident life partners'll follow ya."

Reno snorted loudly and ungently. "You're not the first to make that joke, gramps."

"Ever stop to wonder why?" Cid shot back, putting the helmet on Red XIII's suit and sealing it. Turning to face Vincent, he ordered, "Go for it, kid."

Vincent nodded gravely at him and then swept himself up in his cloak. He flew across the bridge, grabbed Red XIII, and was gone.

"Now how come he can't just ferry us all to the portal using that disappear-into-his-cloak trick?" Reno asked.

"The cloak don't make him resistant to the pressure, it's his body," Cid replied. "Anybody else he took with 'em would die without a diving suit anyway."

"Figures," Reno muttered. "So, what do you people do for fun around here?"

"Nothin'," Cid said, blanking his expression. "Since Barrett's a religious nut, there's no alcohol, smokin', or gamblin'. There's no porn allowed, and we gotta pray before an' after meals. Bed's at eight and we get up at four. Oh, and there's no piercin's allowed," he concluded, looking pointedly at Rude.

Rude flipped him the one-finger salute and disappeared down a hallway.

Reno stood there, his right eye twitching. Cid held his gaze with his best poker face, and then abruptly broke down laughing.

"You _ass_," Reno growled.

"God_damn_, you're stupid," the old pilot guffawed. "Come on, kid. Let's hit the lounge an' play the Pity Drinkin' Game. Ev'ry time you see a surly one-armed guy, you take a shot."

"I _HEARD _THAT," Barrett's voice echoed down the hall.

* * *

It was morning in Spira, and most of the world was having breakfast. The arrangement wasn't much different for those in Besaid.

Lulu looked across the table at Cloud incredulously. "You _attacked_ Yuna, thinking she was an _intruder_? If anyone else hears this, they'll probably try to kill you."

They were in Tidus's and Yuna's house, relating their respective stories to one another, and Cloud's rather deadly faux pas of the night previous still had not been forgotten.

"He's really quite good," Yuna observed, mischief sparkling in her eyes and matching her smile. "That trick you used against my barrier caught me by surprise."

"Just something I've figured out over the years," Cloud replied modestly.

Tifa, sitting next to him, elbowed him in the side. "You might've asked who was there before attacking," she chided Cloud. "It would've saved us a lot of trouble."

"Given what Cloud has told me about the foe we're facing, I don't blame him for his reaction," Yuna replied. "As for the damage to my house…" She gestured at the window, which was already being repaired by several enthusiastic volunteers from the village. "I don't think there was any lasting harm done."

Tromell appeared in the doorway to the dining room. "Good morning to you all."

"Where have you been?" Tidus asked.

"We Guado do not sleep as you humans do. I found an isolated spot outside to spend the night. Besaid is quite beautiful."

"Hope you eat like we do, because this stuff's good," Yuffie laughed. Everyone tactfully avoided observing that the pile of food in front of the young ninja-girl was at least twice as large as anyone else's.

"We're going into the temple today, yes?" Auron asked. He sat at the end of the table and had barely touched any of his food. When Yuna – who had quickly gotten over the initial shock of seeing him alive and well again – gave him a concerned look, he said, "I haven't eaten for more than show in more than ten years. I'm not used to it."

"Of course."

"Yeah, we'll head into the temple today," Cloud confirmed. "We can't let the portal just sit there. We've already delayed too long." He leaned forward slightly. "The fact that we haven't been having more trouble from Sephiroth here means his attention's directed elsewhere – which isn't good for whoever he's targeting."

Yuna regarded Cloud, the mischief not leaving her eyes. "This Sephiroth… is he very handsome?"

This took Cloud aback. "I suppose you could say that. Why?"

Ignoring Tidus's confused look, Yuna continued, "Because you seem awfully intent on chasing him. Am I seeing some sort of damaged relationship between the two of you?"

Cloud felt his ears begin to heat up. "Not at all! Where are you getting this idea?"

He felt the heat rising into his face as Tifa started to laugh. "It's not like that, Miss Yuna, but I have a story I could tell you about a romp through Wall Market in Midgar where Cloud showed a very odd side of his. It's second-hand, but…"

"That was necessary!" Cloud protested. "Corneo wouldn't let me inside, so the only way that Aerith and I –" He stopped suddenly, his expression hardening.

Tifa looked pained and rested her hand on his. "I'm sorry. I forgot about… well, you know."

Cloud was faintly aware of Lulu and Yuna exchanging glances and filing Aerith's name away for future interrogations. Tidus and Auron were doing the same, though Auron was giving more of a nod and Tidus more of a 'is this important?' look.

"So, Yuna," Yuffie said, "why were you going to this Kilika place yesterday?" Mentally, Cloud thanked her; Yuffie wasn't being oblivious, she was just acting like it.

"Apparently there was some trouble in Kilika Temple," Yuna replied. "The Yevon Party members stationed there wanted someone who'd been in the Chamber of the Fayth before to take a look. I went, evaluated it, and told them their men must have been seeing things. Now, though, I'm not so sure."

"What did those Yevonites claim to have seen?" Auron asked. The way he spat "Yevonites" suggested a history of mutual distaste to Cloud, though he might be misinterpreting it.

"The men said that

* * *

they saw black mist seeping out of the Chamber of the Fayth. When they moved closer to investigate, they saw it was rising from the portal itself. It was gone when their superiors came to see, though, so nobody really believed them, but they were so sure they'd seen something that I was called in."

"Black mist," Cloud murmured. "Anything of particular importance on Kilika?"

"Unless you count one of the Youth Party's strongest political bastions, no," Yuna replied. "And I don't think Sephiroth is interested in the People's Republic."

* * *

Gippal, ever the late riser, was just opening his eyes when he heard someone enter his room.

He sat up groggily and glanced at the door. "I know it's late. Four more minutes."

"Stay in bed, stud. I have a surprise for you."

That _really_ woke him up. Gippal rubbed at his eyes and stared at his doorway.

In it stood Rikku, dressed in what had to be the negligee of his dreams.

"I thought we were broken up," he said with a grin.

Rikku frowned and closed her eyes for a moment, then said, "Apparently we are. Well, it got me cleared to get in here."

Before Gippal had a chance to ask her what she meant, she dissolved into a free-floating cloud of black mist. Gippal gave a shout and jumped to his feet, reaching for his weapon, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. The mist lunged and enveloped him, slamming him to the wall and sticking him there, becoming strangely solid and liquid at the same time.

The last thing Gippal remembered was a man's faint laughter in his head.

* * *

Vincent and Red XIII stood in the Farplane, having gone through the portal only moments before. Seeing that there was no water inside the portal, Vincent returned to his normal form and helped Red XIII out of the cumbersome deepsea suit.

"Good to be out of that thing," the beast observed. "Now, what should our next move be?"

"I have no idea," Vincent replied, surveying their surroundings. "It's certainly pretty enough, but it appears the only way back out is the way we came in."

Red XIII tried to shift his feet a bit to stand more comfortably, then realized he couldn't. He snapped his gaze down to his forepaws and saw he was standing in a puddle of JENOVA cells.

"VINCENT!" he snarled. "BELOW US!"

Vincent took one look, grabbed Red XIII, and pushed off violently enough that the stuff relinquished its hold on them. They hung in midair for one perfect moment of clarity as they both saw that all that awaited them below was an endless field of flowers.

Then they fell and were lost to sight.

* * *

"Are we all ready?" Yuna asked.

Behind her stood Tidus, Auron, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie. Lulu had agreed to stay outside and stop anyone else from trying to enter, while Tromell waited with her until the temple was confirmed safe enough for him to attempt the Rite on the portal.

There was a general exchange of affirmative glances, and Cloud said, "Let's go."

Yuna pushed open the stone doors and they walked through.

"The Cloister of Trials still active?" Tidus asked.

"No," Yuna replied. "It shut down after we defeated Sin – all of them did. My guess is that they ran on the power of the resident Fayth, but who knows?"

They pressed onward through a long, twisting corridor before finally arriving at a juncture. To their left and right lay two rooms, both apparently dead ends, and the corridor itself continued forward, then twisted to the right. According to Yuna, that was also a dead end.

"There's an elevator down to the Chamber of the Fayth in this room," Yuna said, motioning to their left, "but it hasn't worked for a while now. After we resolved the Vegnagun Crisis, everything in the temples that still worked shut down. I hear that the Machine Party had to install stairs to the top floor of Djose Temple because the elevators there stopped operating."

Auron strode forward to stand directly on a circular depression that Cloud assumed had been the elevator in the past. "Not working indeed," the old guardian observed. "Tidus, you take this one."

"Sure," Tidus said cheerfully, pulling a gold-trimmed, radiant blue sword from his belt.

Tidus took a deep breath and seemed to center himself, then raised a fist. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie watched in fascination as magic coalesced out of the very air into shimmering waves of energy and shot into Tidus's fist, traveled through his arm and into his body, and from there split into three distinct currents. Two smaller streams of energy went to his legs, and the majority of the magic blossomed within his sword, emitting a harsh glow.

The magic in his legs exploded out of the soles of his feet as Tidus jumped ten feet into the air, whirling his sword around his head. He swung it in front of him in a broad arc, and purple bolts of energy flew from the blade and vanished, seemingly without effect, into the stone floor.

A moment later, the elevator exploded into dozens of pieces.

"Nice," Cloud observed. The amount of free-floating magic in this world continued to astound him.

One by one, they jumped down. It was a long drop by a normal man's standards, but even without materia Cloud had no trouble. They stepped forward and ascended the stairway there, up to the large, forbidding metal door inscribed with what looked like a winged eye.

Auron grabbed hold of it from the bottom, motioning for Cloud and Tidus to do the same. The three of them heaved and, after several minutes of struggling, finally managed to get the blasted thing to open.

"You'd think you weren't supposed to be able to get in," Cloud wheezed, out of breath.

"They stopped functioning properly at the same time as the elevators and other assorted machinery," Yuna apologized. "Not much to be done about it."

Brushing past paper-thin gossamer petals that Yuna said had also once parted before her, they came to the Chamber of the Fayth. In front of them yawned a hole that seemed to have no bottom.

"So that's where the Fayth of your first summoned creature used to be?" Yuffie asked, crouching in front of the hole, her face bright with curiosity. "It really is funny. The more things change…"

Cloud also crouched in front of the hole, looking for signs of JENOVA cells. "Doesn't look like we're going to have a problem, here. Tifa, go get Tromell, would you?"

"Sure thing," she affirmed. "I'll be back soon."

As her footsteps echoed down the stairwell back to the elevator, Cloud frowned. Something here didn't feel right. Sephiroth had to have known they would show up to close the portal here eventually. Was he going to abandon it so easily?

_If I were him, I'd wait until we brought in Tromell, then go for him. He already showed that he doesn't like the poor guy's presence here._

Yuna had circled to the other side of the hole and was staring down into it. "I wonder if it still leads to a passage into the deep Farplane," she murmured, "or if Sephiroth's altered it so it leads to wherever he wants it to."

By chance, she happened to look up at exactly the right angle, and when she did, she yelled, "BEHIND YOU!"

Cloud was on his feet, sword in hand, swinging around in an instant, with Auron, Tidus, and Yuffie a moment behind him.

There was nothing there.

Then Cloud looked up at the ceiling. A huge, bulbous colony of JENOVA cells was clustered there, hidden from the eyes of those who entered, silent and inert for now but undoubtedly ready to spring to life at any second.

"Don't touch it!" Cloud yelled as his companions began to ready themselves for an attack. "If Sephiroth was paying attention to this portal, he'd have gotten us while we were vulnerable, not when we're alert and ready for him. We need to buy as much time as we can for Tromell to get down here, but be ready to kill the entire colony as soon as it so much as twitches."

Yuna had her staff, the Nirvana, pointed square at it. "If it _does_ so much as twitch, rest assured it won't last long."

They waited long, tense minutes for Tifa to arrive with Tromell. The JENOVA colony didn't stir, though some trick of the light or perhaps their tension sometimes created the illusion of slight movement. It was unnerving to be standing there, watching something that could well kill one in a heartbeat and not touching it for fear of a greater cost.

Finally, they heard a pair of boots hit the ground, and several seconds later the slight _tap_ of someone touching down much more gently. They glanced down the corridor, seeing that Tifa had thought to rig up a rope harness for the elderly Tromell.

The two of them entered the Chamber of the Fayth. "What are we so tense about?" Tifa asked.

Before anyone could answer, the Farplane portal, which had gone unwatched for the past six minutes in favor of the JENOVA colony, began to belch JENOVA cells in vast black clouds. Cloud swore and whirled around to confront the stuff when the colony on the ceiling chose that moment to come alive, spewing out at them in a midnight wave of death.

* * *

It seemed a long time before Red XIII and Vincent actually landed anywhere, but when they did, it was on the bottom of a large metal platform suspended out over a gaping void. Red XIII immediately began to fall back down, but Vincent drew himself into his cloak, grabbed Red XIII, and hauled both of them onto the top side of the platform.

What they saw was enough to cause them considerable alarm. Two men stood over the prone form of a third. The two men were young, one with dark skin, white hair, and a long staff, and the other with blonde hair, an eyepatch, and what could have passed for an odd blend between a guitar and a mortar launcher. The third man looked older, with a mess of brown hair, eyeglasses, and an artificial left arm and leg.

Before either Vincent or Red XIII could ask what was going on, who the men were, or where they all were, a black cloud of JENOVA cells swirled up from the portal behind them. Both of them stiffened, ready to defend themselves, but the cloud bypassed them and instead engulfed the prone, brown-haired man, who at a closer glance was unconscious.

"Those two stink of JENOVA cells," Red XIII snarled.

Moving disconcertingly as one, the two men swiveled their heads to look at Vincent and Red XIII, then both spoke at once. "Ah, Vincent Valentine and Red XIII. What a coincidence, seeing you here."

Vincent's arm blurred for a moment, and then he had leveled his enormous three-barreled revolver, Cerberus, at the one with the mortar. "Back off."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the two men continued to speak simultaneously. "These two aren't simulacrums. I've taken the liberty of appropriating their bodies for my use, in addition to their friend, here. If necessary, they will stand up to scrutiny that mere JENOVA simulacrums won't – not to mention, for reasons unrelated to our present situation, that being possessed _again _is something of an irony for them." Both men gave the same poisonous grin at the same time. "I am not without appreciation for the small things in life."

The body of the third man shook and began to rise. Exchanging a sideways glance, Vincent and Red XIII agreed on one course of action: run.

Red XIII sprang two meters to the one with the mortar, aiming for the weapon itself rather than the man. Though augmented with JENOVA cells, the man's body was still not up to holding onto such a heavy weapon when four hundred pounds of coiled animal muscle said otherwise. Vincent double-tapped a pair of triple bursts, his bullets slamming into both ends of the white-haired man's staff. The man lost his grip and the weapon went flying. Vincent took off at full speed, rushing past him with ease. Red XIII skidded for a moment as he finished his charge, then got his footing and also began to go full-speed. The two raced down the platform's connecting pathway neck and neck, making an abrupt left turn as they hit the end of the corridor that led to the massive Farplane portal. There was the sound of a gunshot, but neither of them felt anything hit.

Baralai and Gippal made no attempt to pursue. They simply turned to watch Nooj straighten up, unsteady without his cane, which had been knocked aside in the struggle to subdue him after Sephiroth implanted the impulse to come here. He returned the pistol in his right hand to the holster at his belt.

Then he raised his artificial left arm to his face and spoke into the Al Bhed transmitter he'd had implanted in his wrist. "This is Meyvn Nooj. There are two intruders in lower Bevelle: a black-haired man in a red coat, carrying a firearm, and a red-furred creature accompanying him. Both are to be considered extremely dangerous. All security teams, shoot to kill." He paused, then tuned to a different channel and said, "Meyvn Nooj authorizes activation of all defense machina in lower Bevelle, confirmation code two-two-seven-nine-four."

He lowered his arm and smiled malevolently at Baralai and Gippal, who returned the smile.

Things were going well indeed.


	7. Chapter VII

Hello, my dear readers. If you're here wondering where this week's A Clash of Heroes is, let me apologize. Real life has been bad (not bad bad, busy bad) lately, and I've been unable to muster up the gumption to write Chapter XIII without forcing it. I know nobody wants to read forced crap, so please forgive me and I promise next week's update will be a little longer than usual to make up for it. I know I've left you on a cliffhanger, as well, so I'll see if I can't defuse some of the tension. You see, Sephiroth is actually

* * *

"Get DOWN!" Yuna shouted.

Everybody dropped to the floor as Yuna opened a dozen Flare vortexes throughout the room. Flames spewed forth, bathing the Chamber in a cold fire that burned it clean of JENOVA cells.

The colony was dead, but the waves from the portal continued to come. Yuna collapsed onto her knees, the effort of the Flare spells hitting her full-force. Yuffie stepped back a pace, leveling her weapon in front of her. A massive front of magic gathered about her before roaring forth in a huge beam that scourged the gathering JENOVA cells. The wall above Yuna splintered from the force of Yuffie's All Creation attack. Tidus darted in and scooped her up before the debris could rain down on her.

And still the JENOVA cells poured forth.

Tifa slid forward to bombard them with Final Heaven. Blue energy erupted out of midair in front of her open palm, annihilating great waves of the black mist the portal was belching forth. There was still no halt to the JENOVA cells. Tidus leaped into the air in another Energy Rain and sent down a barrage of purple strobes that soaked into the floor around the portal before exploding violently. Auron also leapt up into the air in the same moment, gathering magic into the Masamune before sinking it deep into the stone as he came back down. Fiery eruptions spewed from the splintered rock around the portal, creating for a brief moment a wall of pure flame in which the JENOVA cells were burned alive. Cloud stepped back, found a spot with some room, and focused his energy around his sword, forming it into a razor-edged windstorm that he hurled into the stream of death, slicing it apart.

The JENOVA cells still came.

Yuna was still down, and they were all out of last-resort attacks. Normally, JENOVA cells had to coalesce into a form capable of fighting strategically and with lethal force, but when there was a portal bringing forth a seemingly unlimited supply of them, they could just swarm their targets. Whatever they were going after didn't have to be down for the count or unprepared if there were enough to swallow it whole.

Acting on instinct, Cloud grabbed Tifa, pulling her behind him. If the JENOVA cells struck now, he might delay them for a few seconds, give Tifa a chance to get away –

Tromell, who had stood silent and unnoticed until now, gave a cry. As he thrust his open palms forward, it became apparent that he had been silently channeling a powerful spell. Magic erupted from his outstretched hands, zeroed in on the portal, and vanished into it.

The stream of JENOVA cells ceased. The few that remained were quickly burnt to a crisp by the elderly Guado, who bombarded the room with Firaga blasts.

"The portal is closed," he said with a faint smile.

* * *

Vincent and Red XIII had made it out of subterranean Bevelle with little trouble. Attack machina had blocked their way, certainly, but the ancient machines posed no threat compared to some of the deadly automatons the two had faced while fighting the Shin-Ra.

They shot through the Cloister of Trials – a bizarre maze of floating platforms and paths made of light – and arrived at what appeared to be an elevator.

"What are the chances, you think," Red XIII asked, "that the second we get on, it drops like a stone and smashes us against the floor all the way down there?"

"Smashes _you_, maybe," Vincent answered, humor barely detectable in his voice. "I don't know where we are, but I can tell you one thing that holds true wherever there are people: elevators that are obviously the only way to get to somewhere don't purposefully malfunction when someone wants to exit."

"If you're so sure," Red XIII replied, his lips peeling back in his version of a grin, "you go first."

Vincent stepped onto the free-floating elevator, but nothing happened. He shrugged and turned to beckon Red XIII onboard when the elevator started ascending. The beast gave a yelp of surprise and then jumped for it, managing to grab on with his forepaws before the elevator left him behind completely.

"It looks to me as though it works perfectly," Vincent deadpanned.

"It would seem so."

The elevator slid smoothly through a layer of fog and came to a stop in a large antechamber of some sort. Vincent and Red XIII found themselves surrounded by at least twenty warrior monks, all pointing rifles at them.

"We surrender," Red XIII immediately said.

There was the briefest moment where all the monks wondered whether he was serious or not. In that moment, Vincent snapped up Cerberus and fired.

Red XIII had thought that Vincent shooting twice a second was fast. He found himself corrected – there were six monks in a rough line directly in front of the elevator, staggered so they didn't shoot one another if they had to fire. Vincent switched Cerberus to single shots and executed a double triple-tap, firing six times in a second and a half.

Vincent sent all six bullets into the barrels of the monks' rifles. Cerberus fired big rounds, so the bullets blew open the front half of the barrel and then stuck in the latter half, producing a sizeable kick that sent all six men stumbling. The sound rang out like a single gunshot that blew through the chamber and made all the other monks flinch for another quarter second.

Without further preamble, Red XIII took off, bowling over all six of the monks. Vincent was right behind him, and they passed between the two sides within another two seconds, during which none of the other monks fired for fear of hitting their comrades.

Then they were out the door into sunlight where more monks awaited them. Two standing directly around the corner of the walkway cut loose with flamethrowers the instant they saw the two fugitives. Vincent swirled his cape into the way, covering himself and Red XIII. The flames shriveled and died at the touch of the material, and Vincent twisted Cerberus around and fired through his cape. Both flamethrowers exploded, pitching the unfortunate monks backwards. Luckily, neither one of them was on fire in more than a couple places.

"We're awfully merciful today," Red XIII observed as they took off down the walkway, heading for what looked like the exit.

Vincent looked at him. "They don't know they're being used as pawns by Sephiroth. Killing them for serving a master they don't know exists would be unfair."

They turned another corner and found themselves staring down a vast bridge that stretched farther than even their unusually acute vision could perceive. Vincent quickly scanned the nearby area and saw another elevator, though this one floated just above the water.

"Rapid transport," he said. "We'll take it." He leaped aboard, Red XIII right behind him, not wanting to nearly miss this one and get soaked in the process of clambering on. The elevator took off at high speed, shooting down the bridge at what had to be fifty miles an hour.

"Ready," Red XIII muttered, "and… JUMP!"

The both of them leaped off of the rail of the elevator as it came to a stop, their momentum carrying them another seventy feet before they hit the ground again. Red XIII landed easily on all fours, while Vincent turned his fall into a forward roll and came up with Cerberus at the ready.

"Looks clear. I can see a forest beyond this bridge, now."

"Better than where we are now," Red XIII growled as he ducked underneath a long-range artillery shell that exploded violently a few feet away. The monks had really started to pull out the heavy stuff. "Can we leave?"

"After you," Vincent replied smoothly.

* * *

From a high window, Nooj watched Vincent and Red XIII disappear into the distance, heading toward Macalania.

It would be unfortunate if any more of Cloud's friends ended up entering Spira through the portal in Bevelle. It was the only gateway in Spira massive enough to serve the plan properly, and if they figured out what was going on, they would doubtless complicate matters.

A monk stood in the doorway. "Apologies, Meyvn. The two intruders got away. We had them surrounded with twenty of our men, but they were too powerful and too quick."

_Keep in character_. Nooj shrugged. "I prepared for such an eventuality." He ran his fingers over the butt of his sidearm. "The red-furred creature doesn't know it, but as he and his companion were escaping, I tagged him with a tracer. If they have fellow conspirators in Spira, they'll lead us straight to them… and then we'll be able to crush them at our leisure."

Gippal appeared behind the monk. "You sure that's a good idea, Nooj?"

"The People's Republic needs to make its power felt," Nooj responded. "This incident is hardly worth mentioning, except for the fact that it sullied our pride. We will show potential troublemakers that we are not to be trifled with."

Gippal grinned and nodded, just as he was supposed to.

* * *

They'd made it into the startlingly blue forest before deciding to stop. Vincent pulled out the cellphone he'd picked up the previous morning and dialed Cloud's number. It beeped at him and flashed a NO SIGNAL dialog.

"I can't say I didn't expect that," Vincent muttered. "Well, what shall we do now?"

Before Red XIII could answer, there was a sound like thunder and a large, red airship descended from above the clouds. It dropped to earth and hovered there, not more than thirty meters away. Vincent and Red XIII exchanged glances.

"They may be friendly," Red XIII finally said. "And if not, we can handle ourselves. It's better than wandering aimlessly through a wood we know nothing about."

"True. We'll see what they have to say, then."

Even at that distance, they could see that the airship disgorged only two figures. Electing to wait and let the figures come to them, Vincent and Red XIII quickly discerned that the two marching toward them were a pair of young women.

The shorter of the two had blonde hair, green eyes, and a petite frame. She wore an orange vest and an olive green skirt that extended to just short of mid-thigh. Strapped onto her right hand was a large claw-glove, and holstered at her waist were a pair of what looked like Berettas. The other young woman had grey hair and was dressed in black leather accoutrements, with a pair of red suspenders running vertically against the mainly horizontal lines of her garb and bringing out the identical color of her eyes.

She and her companion stopped a meter or so away from Vincent and Red XIII, clearly looking them over.

"Hello," Red XIII said, breaking the silence.

Both the girls jumped and stared at him in clear surprise. "You can _talk_?" the blonde asked, looking delighted at the idea.

"The very fact that you're asking me a question shows that you already expect speech of me, because if I were unable to speak I could not give an answer," Red XIII replied.

The girl with grey hair, though the color certainly was not indicative of advanced age, remained stoic. "Does your friend talk as much as you do?" she asked, indicating Vincent.

"The fact that you're addressing that question to me and not to him reveals that you have doubts of his capability for speech," Red XIII continued, clearly humoring himself and having a little fun. "Just because he has not spoken does not mean he is incapable."

Grey Hair looked at Vincent this time and asked, "So, who are you two?"

"I'm Vincent Valentine," Vincent replied. "My companion is Red XIII. And you are…?"

"I'm Paine," said Grey Hair. "This is Rikku."

Rikku bowed at the waist, though the way she did it made the motion inescapably silly. "The Gullwings, at your service."

"Charmed," Vincent observed drily, though only Red XIII caught the hint of sarcasm in the ex-Turk's voice. "I assume that's your airship."

"Yup, the _Celsius_," Rikku responded, pride sounding in her voice. "My brother and his pal, Buddy, found it."

"Was it accidental?" Vincent asked. "Or did they find it in much the same fashion as you have found us – deliberately?"

Paine took a step forward, not threateningly, but merely asserting her position. "You're right. We didn't just find you – your friend asked us to look for you."

"Cloud asked you to look for us?" Red XIII asked. "You've seen him?"

"Yes, we've seen him, and no, he didn't ask us to look for you two specifically – just to keep an eye out for people who look like they might be from out of town. We're getting well-paid to do it, too."

Vincent looked them over again. "You're mercenaries?" This time, even Rikku and Paine, who barely knew him, could detect the concealed sort of chuckling disbelief his tone carried.

"We're sphere hunters," Paine corrected him. "However, barring the prospect of finding a sphere, we still need to eat. Cash works pretty well."

"Sphere hunters," Red XIII murmured, almost to himself. "That's what professional materia hunters used to call themselves, back when Grandfather's father was young… or so he told me."

"I have no idea what materia is," Rikku said, "but we've got lots of spheres. While you're onboard, you can take a look at a few if you want."

Vincent and Red XIII exchanged glances. "Onboard?"

"Of course," Paine replied. "Cloud's not paying us just to fly around and look for you. Getting you to him is part of the process."

"How convenient," Red XIII said. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go."

* * *

It was dark as the _Celsius_ sped south, bound for Besaid Island. Vincent stood out on the deck of the ship, watching the stars slowly pass him by.

His thoughts would flicker here and there, as was their wont. One moment they rested on the threat of the JENOVA cells apparently resurrecting Emerald WEAPON. At another, they went to the threat of Sephiroth, and the mystery of how he was able to project his power into this world. They stopped briefly at the disturbing coincidence of the _Celsius_'s technical engineer, a young genius by the name of Shinra. Vincent was sure that was all it was – a coincidence – but that did little to assuage the instinctive hostile flare he experienced whenever he heard the boy's name.

So he had come up here. As Cloud had explained, however briefly, to Auron, Vincent didn't sleep much. He'd slept for almost thirty years, and he was tired of it. An hour or two a night was all he needed, not to mention all he could tolerate.

There was the sound of a door opening behind him, and Vincent resisted the urge to whirl around and draw Cerberus. He felt no hostility from these Gullwings, but they were very clearly from a different world. There was a gap of mutual misunderstanding that he suspected would continue to haunt them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

It was Grey Hair – Paine. Vincent glanced over his shoulder at her. "No. I merely came up here for privacy."

"Then I'm intruding. Sorry."

"Privacy," Vincent continued, "does not necessarily mean solitude."

"You sure?"

"No. But I'm trying to be."

Paine drew up beside him at the fore of the _Celsius_'s deck. "I think I know what you mean. You have trouble with – well, living. With people."

The girl had perception, a rarity in this day and age – though Vincent had no idea if this world's timeframe corresponded to his own in any particularly meaningful way.

"When I met Yuna and Rikku," Paine went on, "their philosophy seemed completely alien to me. To me, it seemed like they were wearing their hearts on their sleeves. I could never understand how they did that."

"No," Vincent said, acting on a feeling. "You did, at one point. You were like that yourself. But you were betrayed, and hurt, and it changed you forever."

Paine stared at him, not bothering to disguise her shock at his insight. "Personal experience?"

"Of course."

She turned her gaze back to the stars. "I don't know how bad it was for you… but the people that I allowed myself to get close to ended up drifting away of their own accord. And – it wasn't exactly as it seemed at the time, but it was as you said. One of them betrayed the rest of us."

"I sympathize," Vincent murmured, realizing that it was true. He felt empathy for this girl that he'd only met this afternoon. Their pasts, though neither of them had spoken in any concrete detail, were startlingly symmetrical on many counts. It was an odd feeling, a sort of bond, standing there in the chill night air and talking about the past. They were different on many levels, but in an instinctive, basic way, they were the same.

Vincent realized she was looking at him again, and he favored her with a small smile. He doubted she had any idea how rare his smiles were, but that did not seem to dampen her appreciation.

Abruptly, Paine shook her head and looked down at the deck. "I'm sorry. I should go." She turned and began to stride back toward the elevator.

Before he had thought the movement through, Vincent had laid his right hand on her shoulder. "I wonder," he said, "if you would care to remain – for a little while."

She looked down at the hand resting on her shoulder, then up along the arm to his shoulder to his face. For an instant he caught a glimpse of her – beneath the leather and steel was a twenty-year-old girl who had been hurt and was still trying to heal. In the same moment, he knew she was seeing him, as well.

The glimpse lasted but a moment before both of them drew back into themselves. Paine shrugged. "Sure. I've got nowhere else to be."

Vincent nodded. They returned to the forefront of the deck, gazing up and out at the stars.


	8. Chapter VIII

"Three… two… one… HA!" Reno exclaimed.

"Sunuvabitch," Cid growled. "The one time I got money ridin' on Vincent, and he's late."

"Pay up, old man," Reno laughed. "Four hundred gil."

Muttering darkly to himself, Cid pulled out a wad of twenty-gil bills, counted out twenty of them, and handed them over. He, Reno, and Rude had been sitting on the bridge of the _Shera _for the last few hours, making small talk and occasionally having a pull from the bottle Cid had brought up. Barret was asleep in a chair he'd pulled up to the front of the bridge where he could stare into the ocean.

"Time for a victory shot," Reno hooted. "Rude – want to break out that stuff we found under Barret's bunk?"

The one-armed man apparently was not as deeply asleep as he seemed. He sat up and exclaimed, "You took my bottle of '45 Corel?"

"No, we borrowed it without permission."

"Quit yer clownin'," Cid said. "Get yer asses into divin' suits. You're up next."

* * *

It took only a short while for the Turks to disembark from the _Shera_ and enter the cave. A few minutes later, Cid, already impatient, moved the still-silent Cait Sith, and thumbed the radio on. "Cid to Rude and Ruder, over."

"Ha, ha," Reno drawled. "Did you hear that, partner? He made a joke about your name. That's so clever and fresh. We've never heard that one before."

"Why, thanks," Cid said smoothly, ignoring Reno's tone. "How's it look?"

"Dark and wet. Quiet, though, kind of nice – wait. D'you hear that, partner?"

There was a faint rumbling, audible even through the water. Cid could hear it, too.

"The hell is that?" he asked.

His question was answered and then some as the seafloor split open in front of the _Shera_. Ruby WEAPON, cleansed of its cybernetic components and fully regenerated by JENOVA cells, burst forth.

"SHIT!" Cid yelled. "Ruby's kicking too?"

The _Shera_ slewed violently to starboard as something slammed into it. Cid stared out the port window and saw Emerald coalescing out of the blackness of the ocean, moving in on the attack.

The cave had vanished in the huge cloud of silt Ruby had kicked up, but Reno's and Rude's signals were still coming through. "Don't wait up for us, old guy," Reno was saying. "It'll only get you killed. Get out of there, we'll head for the portal."

"Will do. I'll draw off the WEAPONs, Reno. Good luck."

"If we don't make it, tell Reeve I never liked him."

"I think he knows, but I'll do that for ya."

"Ciao." The radio cut off.

Cait Sith came alive. "Never particularly liked him, either."

Cid rounded on the moogle. "Alright, Reeve, spill it. You knew that Ruby was still around somewhere, dintcha? It didn't disappear from the Gold Saucer desert by itself. We heard rumors that the WRO got rid of the thing, but I've never trusted Shin-Ra farther'n I could throw 'em, and I know a lotta yer people used to be their people."

"All right, I knew Rufus was using old Shin-Ra assets to try to reconstruct Ruby WEAPON from what you left of it and use it as a defensive weapon," Reeve admitted. "But – "

"The HELL did you just say?" Barret growled. "Rufus's had his hands on Ruby this whole damn time, rebuildin' it for nobody knows what the hell?"

"Less talking about it, more escaping from it," Reeve replied, eyeing the huge WEAPON striding toward the ship. "I'll tell you when we're no longer in danger."

"Funny to hear a guy sittin' in his office say that," Cid shot at him, firing the _Shera_'s engines and sending her into a full spin that brought her around to start heading away. Another shot from Emerald hit and shook the craft, but the armor was heavy enough that there was no damage.

Then the _Shera_ jolted and all its forward motion ceased. Cid growled and pulled up a visual of the engines on his console, and saw to his dismay that Ruby had extended its tentacles over a hundred meters to wrap them around the _Shera_'s rear section. "Helluva long reach that thing's got." He hit a button.

The entire outer hull of the airship lit up with a massive electric discharge. The fact that the _Shera_ was also underwater only added to the weapon's potency. Ruby's tentacles withdrew, lightning-fast. Both WEAPONs staggered as the electrical blast caught them full force, though they recovered quickly enough.

By that time, the _Shera_ had its engines back to full and it was moving away at thirty-eight knots. Emerald and Ruby, amphibious though they were, couldn't match that speed.

"We're in the clear," Cid said, "unless Ruby wants another shock. We'll give 'em an hour to beat it, then we'll come back 'n see if they're gone." He turned to Cait Sith. "Now, Reeve. What's this shit about Rufus reconstructin' Ruby?"

"Yeah, do Goddamn tell," Barret growled.

Cait Sith froze for a moment, then began to speak again, but its voice's pitch and tone were different. "This is Rufus. Reeve's given me computer access to Cait Sith so I can talk with the two of you."

"'Fess up!" Barret yelled at the cat. "You were plannin' to do us all in with Ruby, weren'tcha?"

"Your distrust is understandable," Rufus said mildly. "However, we were rebuilding it for use as a defensive weapon in case anything on the order of Sephiroth, or perhaps Sephiroth himself, showed up again. Unfortunately, it was taken control of by JENOVA cells, just like Emerald was, and it managed to escape the complex we were housing it in before the place's self-destruct could destroy it."

"I don't get it," Cid growled. "Sure, I get why Sephiroth would find Emerald an' Ruby useful – 'specially with JENOVA cells – but they're old news. The _Shera_ could take 'em both out with a little planning. We got a high-tech advantage now."

"Don't ask me," Rufus said. "Of course we can destroy either WEAPON with any one of many different technological methods we have today, but if Sephiroth can strike fast and hard enough, he can still do a lot of damage with them. That's just another reason we need to get Cloud back."

"Yer boys just went in," Barret told Rufus. "We're guessin' they made it into the portal safe. I can't say I like 'em, but they sure as hell don't deserve to drown in deepsea divin' suits or nothin'."

"So glad to hear you say that," Rufus replied drily. "At any rate, while you're waiting, I have a little something here that I think you might find interesting. Call it a peace offering to make up for me keeping you in the dark about Ruby."

"Does it blow shit up?" Cid asked.

"More like crush it into a fine paste."

The old pilot grinned. "Maybe you're not so bad after all, kid. Hang on, Barret, 'cause we're about to go airborne."

A push of a button redirected the thrust vents of the _Shera_ to point down, pushing the airship up and out of the water into open sky. "Give us yer coordinates, Rufus. We'll take yer peace offerin' an' use it with extreme prejudice."

* * *

Inside the cave, Reno and Rude were navigating by the beams of their underwater flashlights, listening to the ponderous thunder of the WEAPONs' movements outside.

"They sure do make a racket," Reno observed over the suit radio. "Well, at least they can't get to us in here."

A giant, tentacled ruby arm stuck itself into the cave mouth before beginning to bash up and down and side to side. As rock splintered and cracked under the assault, the tentacles began to work independently, scooping up large boulders and tossing them out into the open water.

"Oh, yes," Rude said, his voice flat. "We're very safe."

"Fine, fine. Let's head to this portal and get inside. Think we oughta take the scenic route since we're already here?"

An especially violent smash of Ruby's arm provided Rude's answer to that particular question.

They moved.

* * *

Auron watched the _Celsius_ land at the airship dock in Kilika. A minute later, its front hatch opened, disgorging Vincent, Red XIII, Rikku, and Paine. The latter, Auron knew only by reputation and Yuna's description, but he had heard good things and was not disappointed by first impressions.

When Rikku had finished making excited noises about Auron's return – "You're all _alive _and stuff!" – he greeted Red XIII and Vincent.

"Good to see the both of you again," he said. "I'm sure you have quite a story to tell us."

Vincent nodded. "The feeling is mutual, and I assure you that we will tell you everything in good time." He motioned at Paine, who looked up at him with a small smile, which seemed odd. "You know Paine?"

"We've never met before," Auron replied, "but I have heard of her. It is good to make your acquaintance."

Paine shook his hand, but as soon as the introductions were concluded she went back to watching Vincent. Anyone else might have been awed to be in the presence of a resurrected, legendary guardian, but the young woman took it in stride. It was a welcome change of pace from the past few days of disbelief and awe.

"All right," Yuna spoke up. "We're heading to Kilika Temple to see if the portal there's acting up, and to see if Tromell can close it like the one in Besaid. Rikku, Paine, if you want to come, we'd love to have you."

Rikku looked enthused at the prospect, and Paine nodded. "We'll come."

Yuna blinked several times in surprise, then said, "Great! Let's head out."

Evidently she had expected Paine to argue to the point or perhaps demand compensation. The fact that the grey-haired girl had agreed to come along as quickly as that surprised the former summoner.

Cloud had apparently noticed something, too, though Auron suspected the young man only saw it in Vincent. As they walked, Cloud dropped into step with Red XIII at the rear of the group and said, "So. Anything interesting happen aboard the _Celsius_?"

"I'm no spy," Red XIII replied mildly. "If you want to know what's going on with Vincent, ask him yourself. Human emotions are already hard enough for me, and Vincent's simply inscrutable." Auron found that interesting – the beast had implicated Vincent as well as Paine, meaning he did not think it was one-sided.

Cloud nodded and dropped back another step. "Auron, what do you think?"

"Simple. The two of them have shared something, the specifics of which I can only guess at."

"You think it might affect Vincent?"

"If you mean affect him negatively at a crucial moment, I don't know Vincent's measure well enough to hazard a guess. However, I have never known companionship to hinder one's ability to fight. Quite the contrary."

Cloud rubbed at his chin. "I see what you mean. I just… well, Vincent isn't exactly friendly. The fact that she's smiling at him and she's known him for all of a day is just kind of weird."

"I know little of Vincent's history, but Yuna has told me about Paine," Auron said. "What I do know of Vincent suggests to me that they have had many similar experiences. Perhaps the two of them are uniquely suited for one another."

"You think Vincent and Paine are soul mates?" Cloud asked, incredulity sweeping through his tone even as he kept his voice low.

"I said they are uniquely suited for one another, not that they are mystically connected by Fate," Auron said, letting a little admonishment color his tone.

Cloud faded back a step in acknowledgment. "Fair enough. I just never would have expected it of Vincent. And, from the way Yuna looked, she never would've expected it of Paine, either."

"If there's anyone who hasn't noticed, it's Tidus and Yuffie," Auron commented dryly.

"That's harsh," Cloud chuckled, "but probably true." He frowned. "Vincent was still preoccupied with Lucrecia, though, or so I thought. Has he just forgotten her?"

Auron stepped over a loose plank in the walkway. "I take it that Lucrecia was someone important to him."

"Very."

"You are in love with, or certainly very close to, Tifa. Don't bother denying it; even Yuffie, of whom we've spoken so badly, can see it." Cloud didn't try to argue the point. "Does that mean that Aerith, whose loss I can see has caused you great pain, is any less important to you?"

Cloud hesitated, then shook his head. "You're right. I see what you're getting at." He chuckled again. "This just seems kind of a strange time to be talking about this stuff."

"What other time do we have? The idea of setting such things aside during a conflict has never appealed to me. I'm sure you've been asked the question, 'If you died tomorrow…'"

"I've asked myself that a number of times," Cloud admitted. "I've said to myself, 'You need to get on with it, whatever it may be. That way, if you die tomorrow, what you want to say will have been said.'" He glanced down at his feet, then his gaze flicked back to Auron. "But the answer came to me when Kadaj and his gang were attacking Edge City. If I die tomorrow, I'll do it protecting those I care about, and nothing will _need_ to have been said." He gave a sheepish grin. "Now that I've said that, though, I've gone and jinxed myself."

"Why the embarrassed grin?" Auron asked. "When you state your intentions on so important a matter, you should declare them proudly and laugh. Fate can be influenced in the most unexpected ways." He looked at Tidus and Yuna, leading the way through Kilika. "Sometimes all it takes is determination." He paused. "And an irritating whistle."

They abruptly realized they were trailing behind the rest of the group when Yuffie said, "All right, what are you two conspiring about back there? 'Fess up before we have to beat it out of you."

"We were talking about how a certain ninja-girl should watch her step," Cloud said, and a moment later a perplexed Yuffie tripped on a small set of stairs.

Laughter rippled through the party. "We're laughing with you, not at you," Tidus told Yuffie, looking like a man doing a poor job of trying to conceal a lie.

Cloud stepped forward and gave her a hand up. "I'll skip the laugh," he told Auron, "but the advice is appreciated."

Vincent and Paine walked onward, absorbed in a conversation nobody else completely understood.

* * *

Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal watched the People's Republic strike teams assemble and then depart in small groups, all of them with orders to hunt down the two intruders of the day before and either kill them or capture them alive and return them to Bevelle. Anyone that was found to have helped the intruders was subject to the same treatment.

"By the way," Nooj said to the warrior monk standing at attention behind the three. "Subterranean Bevelle has been locked down as we requested?"

"Yes, Meyvn. Nobody except yourself, Praetor Baralai, or Mechanist Gippal is allowed in. We have the elevator, the only known entrance, under round-the-clock guard. Defense machina are also on full alert down there."

"Good," Nooj commended the man. "We don't want any more unexpected guests. Dismissed."

The warrior monk saluted smartly, turned on his heel, and walked away.

The three men closed their eyes for a moment and then Baralai said, "Our _expected_ guests, however, should be arriving in an hour or so."

"About that, yes," Gippal agreed. "We'd best go and greet them, make them comfortable. After all, they're quite indispensable."

"Quite," Nooj repeated. "After you."

Somewhere in the Farplane, Sephiroth allowed himself a mental smile, as he still lacked a physical form.

_Talking to yourself is much more entertaining when there are three of you_.


	9. Chapter IX

Encased in glass bulbs, magic flames burned brightly, illuminating Kilika Temple in the twilight that had descended upon the island. The party – now eleven members strong – stood at its steps, gazing up at the edifice.

"We make quite the crowd," Auron commented dryly. "I think we should have five stay outside here to guard our backs and keep the temple off-limits. Volunteers?"

Red XIII, Rikku, and Lulu immediately gave their consent. A moment later, Vincent and Paine exchanged glances and also stepped forward.

There it was again – that almost inconsequential glance that seemed to consist of a whole conversation for them. Auron could feel the subtleties flickering back and forth between the two of them.

"The rest of us will head in, then," he said. "Let's go."

He'd forgotten just how long the path up to the temple was. Cloud and Tifa exchanged a glance of their own and Cloud said to her, "Remember when we were infiltrating the Shin-Ra building…"

"…and we decided to take the stairs…"

They both laughed at the same time.

Tidus wiped at his brow. "I can't see how we ran up these stairs back on Yuna's pilgrimage. I must be getting old."

"That was only two years ago," Yuna chided him. "You're just tired or being lazy."

"I'm a married man. I should be able to settle down and do married-man stuff like collect books and live out my life quietly."

"Sounds like being dead," Auron observed.

"Still better than climbing stairs."

They reached the level area where Tidus, Yuna, and Lulu had fought the Sinspawn what seemed like a lifetime ago. Cloud glanced around, clearly assessing potential avenues of attack and escape. "Pretty sheer. You can't climb up the sides very easily, and the temple could be held during a siege by just stationing a bunch of men here."

"Early Yevon always feared an uprising in its remote territories," Tromell replied. "They constructed the temples to be able to serve as garrison bases in time of need, not to mention nigh impregnable fortresses. Besaid Temple is the most easily accessible out of all of them because Besaid was never expected to rebel – and it never did."

More stairs. They led up to the entrance, where a much smaller flight of stairs led down into the structure.

"Shall we go?" Auron asked.

* * *

"So," Lulu said. "What have you been up to, Rikku?"

"Sphere hunting," Rikku replied, unsurprisingly. "Now that most of the amateurs have gotten out of or been forced out of the field, it's good pickings for those who know how and where to look."

"Any incidents with the Syndicate?"

"Nope. They disappeared under a rock somewhere after the Guado kicked 'em out of Guadosalam. Good riddance, I say."

"Speaking of these spheres," Red XIII spoke abruptly. "I never did have the chance to see any on your _Celsius_. Everything happened too quickly the first day, and when I woke the second day we had already arrived. Do you have one on you?"

Rikku nodded and fished her hand into a pouch at her waist, then pulled out a luminescent, light blue sphere.

"May I?" Red XIII asked. He held out a paw. Rikku placed the small sphere in the beast's outstretched extremity, and he held it close to his face for inspection, his paw-fingers gripping the sphere with a surprising firmness.

"It's like materia," he murmured.

"Materia?" Lulu asked. "What's that?"

"Condensed mako energy," Red XIII replied. "The power of the Lifestream." When he realized this explanation was entirely unhelpful, he elaborated. "Over time, spirit energy gathers, coalesces, and crystallizes into what we call materia. When you have materia, you have access to magic – not like this world, where the stuff seems to float freely." He gave the sphere back to Rikku. "We, who are so used to channeling our wills through the materia, are effectively incapable of using free-form magic unless it's in special combat techniques which don't require a focus. It's frustrating."

"Speaking of combat…" Vincent interrupted. "We have guests."

A dozen men had appeared, sifting out of the forest effortlessly and silently. One moment there had been nothing, and the next they were there, boxing in the five volunteers.

"About two and a half for each of us," Lulu said. "Can you all handle –"

Vincent snapped up Cerberus and executed another double triple-tap. Six men took bullets through their shoulders or calves; Vincent had obviously taken the gloves off, considering the danger of their situation. The other six made ready to open fire when a similar barrage hit them. Rikku had drawn both her pistols and had opened up, not nearly as accurately as Vincent but with much the same result.

Even as the dozen enemies stumbled back, with expressions ranging from shocked to enraged, two dozen rifle reports sounded from the bushes. Everyone dove for the ground except Vincent, who tracked by instinct and fired another six times, scoring another six hits. At least thirteen bullets slammed into his torso, making him stagger but not fall.

"Vincent!" Paine yelled.

She was up on her feet and charging an instant before anyone could say or do anything to stop her. Rikku, still prone, brought her guns into position and opened fire again, covering her. Most of the shadows in the bushes ducked for cover, but two of the bolder ones stood to catch Paine in a crossfire. Both of them took lightning bolts to the chest, courtesy of Lulu. Another shadow stood and opened fire on her, but with a small smile she blasted the bullet out of midair even as it streaked toward her. The shooter was readying himself to fire again when Red XIII barreled into him and took him down.

Paine slashed once, twice, three times, and three dull _thuds_ sounded as her enemies hit the dirt. She took down a fourth man and a fifth when a sixth, too far from her for her to get to in time, leveled his rifle at her. A grim smile blossomed on his face as he sighted in on her head, increased as he saw that she realized her predicament, and then changed to a permanently frozen expression of shock as one of Vincent's bullets blew through the side of his head.

Whirling to face him, Paine saw that Vincent was still standing straight, his body relaxed, with no sign of injury of pain appearing on his face.

The last remaining enemies tried for another attack on him. More bullets thudded into the ex-Turk's body, but his expression didn't change. Cerberus swung about and spoke four times, punctuated by the sound of four bodies hitting the dirt.

"I'm all right," Vincent said to Paine.

"How? You have almost twenty bullets in your chest!"

"I told you I was different," he replied simply.

His eyes flicked up beyond her to something in the sky a moment before a bright spotlight hit all of them. The implications were momentarily lost on Paine as the light illuminated the bullet holes in Vincent's chest. None of the wounds were bleeding.

"My body will metabolize the bullets soon enough," he said, stepping forward and staring at the People's Republic airship that had somehow tracked them here. "There won't be any permanent damage, either."

"You're sure?" Paine asked, stepping up beside him and wondering what the People's Republic wanted with them.

"When I first discovered the alterations that were forced on me, I tried to shoot myself through the heart. It didn't work. It didn't leave any more of a mark than the bullet I'd been shot with in the first place, either."

Paine shivered.

"ATTENTION!" a voice blasted down at them from the airship, which looked like a small patrol craft – not anything particularly dangerous. "DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER, OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES!" A pair of rapid-fire guns and a rocket launcher swung into place on the underbelly of the airship, and suddenly it didn't look so harmless.

"It's all right," Vincent said to Lulu, who was about to cast a spell.

A moment later a massive red beam seared through the airship and set off its fuel tanks. The craft exploded, blossoming into a red and gold flower that burned brilliantly for a moment before fading. Red XIII's attack diminished and faded, and he straightened up from where he'd been bracing himself against the feedback from his Cosmo Memory attack.

"What the…" He sniffed something on the ground. "Someone take a look at this."

Rikku holstered her guns, moving over to him. She picked up a small piece of burnt machinery that had fallen to the ground.

"Looks like an Al Bhed tracking device," she said. "You think they managed to plant this on you, Red XIII?"

"Undoubtedly," he growled. "It'd still be on me if I hadn't called on Cosmo Memory. The focal energy sphere it builds up before unleashing the attack must have fried this thing and shaken it loose from wherever they stuck it to me. They haven't given up, apparently."

"If they managed to track you here," Lulu said, "then they may have been able to beat us into the temple. Yuna and the others could be walking into a trap."

"This is a fine predicament," Vincent observed, his voice almost imperceptibly dry. "If we rush in to help them, we risk leaving ourselves open to another attack from out here. If it _is_ a trap in there and we don't go to help them, they could be in serious trouble."

"Problem solved," Lulu told him. "You four head in, and I'll stand guard out here. If they attack with overwhelming force, I can always retreat inside the temple and we can regroup."

Her companions exchanged glances and Red XIII asked, "You're sure you'll be all right?"

"If they're walking into a trap inside, as you say, they'll need all the help they can get." Lulu raised an eyebrow. "Or are you questioning my ability to back up what I say?"

"We'll go, then," Vincent said, turning about and heading for the stairs. Paine, Rikku, and Red XIII fell into step behind him.

* * *

Having sealed the portal to the Farplane without incident, the other members of the party were making their way up into the temple proper. As the elevator down to the Cloister no longer functioned, they needed to climb, and Cloud was the first to start hoisting himself back up. He paused when he saw a pair of armored feet on the ledge above him.

"Vincent?" Cloud asked. "That you?"

"Yes. We were attacked outside by People's Republic forces. Apparently their leadership thinks that Red XIII and I are criminals, and they tracked us here. Has there been any trouble inside?"

"No. The portal's closed, no trouble involved. Who else is with you?"

"Paine, Rikku, and Red XIII. Lulu insisted that she could handle the rear guard herself until we got back."

A horrible feeling, half premonition and half intuition, shot through Cloud's gut. "Get back out to her, NOW! They've been waiting for you to come inside!"

No sooner did Cloud speak than Rikku turned around to find that the enormous temple doors had slammed shut behind them and were secured from the outside.

* * *

Lulu heard the temple doors slam shut even from her position two long flights of stairs down. She turned just in time to see more People's Republic special forces slipping back into the shadows of the rapidly-approaching night. The sun was quickly falling beneath the horizon, and it would be completely dark within a minute.

She closed her eyes and focused. Stretching out with a probing thought, she detected one, two, three of them closing in from different directions.

Flares opened up at her command, and before the men knew what was going on they were burnt to crisps in the chaos flames.

Something lanced out at her, not so much a physical presence as a powerful will –

It hit her like a battering ram. Lulu staggered backward and then collapsed onto one knee, her vision swimming in and out. Standing at the very edge of the clearing was an indistinct humanoid figure. Thinking it was her vision that made it so blurry, Lulu was unpleasantly surprised to find that when her vision cleared, the figure persisted in being hazy.

The sound of bare feet moving across grass thundered in her ears. The figure crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat.

"Lulu," it said, "are you okay?"

_That voice…_

Lulu looked up, her knee digging into the dirt through her dress. Chappu gazed down at her, those bright blue eyes she'd loved so dearly watching her with sympathetic worry.

"No," she said. "You're dead."

"Of course I am. But I don't have to stay that way."

His gaze was hypnotizing. Lulu couldn't tear her eyes from his.

Chappu turned about and began to pace back and forth in front of Lulu. "There's a… _friend_ of mine who needs my help. To be precise, he needs me to convince you to stop helping Cloud and his friends."

"How do you know about Cloud?"

"In return," Chappu continued, ignoring the question, "he'll return me to life. You and I can be together, Lulu, just like we always wanted to be." He stopped pacing and crouched down in front of her, his smile broadening. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out and stroked her cheek.

"All you have to do is go home to Besaid and not lift another finger to help Cloud."

_This is wrong_.

"You don't understand, Chappu," Lulu forced out. "Wakka and I are married now. We have a _child_. You're… dead."

"Is Wakka so important?" Chappu asked, his tone chiding. "When Tidus ignorantly suggested that Wakka could never take my place, you nearly bit his head off for what the idea implied, even though he had no idea what he was saying. But now it's all right? The instant I disappear for a couple years, suddenly it's all about Wakka. Is that just?"

He made so much _sense_, Chappu did. Even as Lulu struggled to clear her head and think rationally, she felt Wakka slipping away. How could she have ever married him? What had she seen in him? His brother? It never even occurred to her that Chappu couldn't possibly know about that conversation.

"You married Wakka because he was the next best thing to me," Chappu continued softly, "since Tidus had Yuna. You had to settle for third-rate goods, Lulu – but no more. I can come back to you."

_Third-rate goods. I never did think Wakka was particularly good at what he did._

The thought was alien, wasn't hers, but it seemed proper. It seemed right, and it looked like it was there to stay.

He drew closer to her.

"Tell me," he said, "that you won't help Cloud any more."

She had to help Cloud. It was imperative, because… No. He had never offered a good reason. He had said that there was an enemy, a dangerous enemy, but _how_ dangerous, he'd never explained. Now it made sense. Cloud was just a madman, accompanied by like-minded people, seeing assassins in the shadows and great threats where there was simply some mild instability in the Farplane. He'd even managed to convince Yuna and Auron that he was right – Lulu would give him that – but he wouldn't pull the wool over _her_ eyes any longer.

"I won't," Lulu replied.

Chappu took her into his arms and began to kiss her.

* * *

Yevon had built some very, very sturdy doors.

Mundane attacks did little more to the sealed temple doors than scratch them or make small dents in the case of Vincent's bullets. None of them particularly wanted to use desperation attacks on a door like this. Part of it was that there were quite probably dangerous enemies outside, waiting for them, and the other part was that they all secretly feared that they might give it their all and the doors would still stand up to them.

"Stand back," Yuna finally said.

All of them looked at her, surprised, but did as she asked. "What do you have in mind, Yuna?" Auron asked.

Yuna said nothing, but instead began to dance.

Cloud watched, a strange feeling of dread twisting in his gut. Yuna's dancing was flawless and beautiful, her staff whirling around her like a thing alive, but there was something horrible about it, something that numbed his soul and made him feel cold. He saw the blood draining out of Auron's face and the piteous expression on Tidus's face and vaguely wondered somewhere in the back of his mind what was making everyone feel this way.

The answer came in the form of a cloud of multicolored wisps that began to seep out of the stonework and whirl around Yuna. Cloud looked into one as it passed and he saw an entire story there: a proud warrior trapped in stone by false gods, confined to the bowels of the earth until someone asked for his help. He felt the crushing weight of the man's sorrow and somehow knew that he was seeing into the mind of the summon that had inhabited this temple.

The storm of wisps – Cloud vaguely heard Rikku murmur something about there being so many pyreflies – continued to gather around Yuna, a whirling storm of color and magic…

In one instant, several things happened. Yuna finished her dance, ending in a complex series of movements that ended with her half-bowed at the waist, her right leg crossed over her left, her right arm pressed across her abdomen and her left arm holding the Nirvana thrust out at the ceiling. The storm of pyreflies vanished, and the Nirvana began to glow a dull orange.

Yuna thrust the staff at the doors. It discharged a brilliant ball of pure flame that screamed into existence and hit the stone with the sound of a thunderclap. The doors were ripped straight out of the temple wall, cast hundreds of feet outside into the air.

Nobody said a word until Yuffie finally managed to get out, "What… what did you just _do?_"

"This was Ifrit's temple," Yuna said quietly, her breathing heavy. "Even dead, he still has power here." She looked at Cloud. "Lulu's in trouble. GO!"

* * *

Lulu could feel Chappu's breath on her lips when she heard a thundering explosion. She jerked back out of reflex and twisted her head to look over her shoulder.

The temple entrance was spewing rock and flame, and the doors had been blasted a huge distance into the air. A few moments later, a figure came flying through the blast, a sword in either hand.

_Cloud_.

Everything seemed to rearrange itself in Lulu's mind, and she snapped her head back around to face the false Chappu. His gaze was fixed on Cloud, his face contorted with rage.

"You _bastard_," Lulu hissed, and blasted him with a Thundaga between the eyes.

He flew back from her and landed in a heap. Cloud yelled something that Lulu couldn't catch and hurled the shortsword in his left hand. It impaled the false Chappu through the torso, pinning him to the ground.

Cloud landed beside Lulu. He gave her no acknowledgment, but neither did he accuse her of anything. _That might come later, but right now we'd better focus on that thing_.

The figure, now no longer identifiable as Chappu, was writhing, trying to extricate the shortsword from its torso. Cloud charged, pulling the other shortsword from his harness and flipping it open.

"SEPHIROTH!"

He skidded to a halt over his enemy, right-hand sword poised to stab Sephiroth, JENOVA construct or not, through the face.

And stopped cold.

Aerith stared up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Cloud… why… did you… kill me?"

Every muscle in Cloud's body seized up. He stood there, paralyzed, as Aerith kept whispering to him. "Cloud… tell me… why."

Lulu saw the figure – a young girl, now, whose very appearance seemed to paralyze Cloud – begin to wrap its fingers around the shortsword in its torso.

"If I die, Cloud… I want you to come with me."

A Flare vortex opened beneath Aerith, a swirling portal of destructive energy. The chaos flame burst forth in an incandescent explosion and consumed her completely.

Lulu relaxed; it looked like her Flare had gotten Sephiroth's puppet. There was absolutely nothing left of it. She heard footsteps thudding down the stairs behind her, but her gaze stayed fixed on Cloud.

For his part, Cloud stood stock-still, staring at the blackened spot where the JENOVA simulacrum had lain. A hollow feeling mounted in his stomach as exhaustion took hold.


	10. Chapter X

Cloud lifted the First Tsurugi above his head and then swung back down, snapping the swing to a halt when it came down to head level. He repeated the move over and over, just as he'd been doing for the past half hour.

He didn't need to be practicing like this. True, the total weight of the First Tsurugi was much greater than his old Buster Sword, but he'd gotten used to it.

Through his thoughts, Cloud faintly heard footsteps approaching. He was standing on the edge of the forest, outside the town but not beyond the glow of the torches on the gate. Everyone else had gone back into town; he, wanting to be alone, had stayed outside it.

"So, this is what you've been doing," Auron said. His voice sounded quite bitter.

"Don't want to talk about it," Cloud replied.

The footsteps continued forward, and Cloud turned around to ask Auron to leave face-to-face.

To his surprise, the first thing of Auron he saw was the man's fist. It took him between the eyes and bowled him onto his back. The sheer force of the blow was enormous; Cloud felt he'd never been hit so hard, not even by Sephiroth.

"What the hell are you doing?" he gasped, feeling blood trickle out of his nose.

"I could ask you the same thing," Auron said. "I'm disappointed in you."

"Are you looking for a fight or something?" Cloud asked.

By way of reply, Auron pulled Masamune from his back and swung down. There was fire in his eye and his mouth was twisted into a grimace – and the blow was also for real. Cloud managed to block with the First Tsurugi, but the impact still rattled him. If he hadn't blocked, it would have killed him.

"You couldn't offer a fight right now," Auron growled. "I don't pretend to know the full impact of what happened with Aerith, or what the relationship between the two of you was like, but I do know this: you're acting pathetic."

Cloud snarled and pushed the Masamune off of him, getting to his feet in the same movement. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Sephiroth pulled the same trick on Lulu today. He ripped the good memories of her dead love from her mind and used them against her. From what she's told us, he actually managed to force a promise out of her that she wouldn't help us any more. That's how badly affected she was."

"What the hell's your point?"

"Where is Lulu now? She's back in town with us. Eating dinner. Laughing at the stupid jokes Tidus and Yuffie are making. She knows it wasn't her fault. She knows that Sephiroth took advantage of her and one of her weaknesses, and she knows damn well that her having a weakness is no fault of hers either. None of us blame her, and she'll obviously not keep the promise Sephiroth forced out of her." Auron shouldered the Masamune. "Where are you? Outside of town, alone, punishing yourself."

"Is there a problem?" Cloud demanded defensively.

"How can you seriously ask me that?" Auron countered. "Of course there's a problem. You seem to have it fixed in your mind that you were somehow responsible for Aerith's death. I know that Sephiroth killed her. I know all the details. I asked your friends about the incident in town. There was no way you could have saved her."

For a moment, Cloud fumed, ready to lay into Auron, but he forced the impulse down. Turning away, he returned the First Tsurugi to his back. "Listen," he said. "I know you're right. There wasn't anything I could've done, and I've come to terms with that. I know Aerith never blamed me, and I've stopped blaming myself." He clenched his fists, feeling the anger surge again. "But when I saw Aerith's face, I just froze up. And when Sephiroth used her voice to tell me I let him kill her, I believed it. I thought I'd gotten past this, but apparently I haven't. Apparently I'm just weak."

"That's wrong, and you know it," Auron said. "You defeated Sephiroth in combat. You overcame his grip on you and faced the shattered reality that was your life." Cloud didn't comment on the fact that Auron had clearly been asking about more than just Aerith's death, but instead remains silent, considering the man's words. "But you're locked in this endless cycle of self-blame. First you blame yourself for her death, then you blame yourself for having blamed yourself. It is not a failing to still feel guilt, Cloud, even if you know it is misplaced. It is not your fault that you still cannot see her face without being affected. Simply knowing you have forgiven yourself does not fix you. Human beings are not so simple."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Cloud observed.

He heard the rustling of the guardian's coat as Auron nodded. "There have been a total of two people that I have loved as brothers – Braska and Jecht – and both of them are dead. They died in accordance with the code of a long-dead man whose only intent was the selfish extension of his city's existence at the expense of the rest of the world.

"And to what end did they die? Merely to perpetuate the cycle of death, even as Braska died for false hope and Jecht became the embodiment of what we stood against. Tidus, his son, and I killed him not much more than two years ago to end the cycle. Tidus killed his own father, and I killed the one brother I had remaining to me. It was not easy, but I have learned to live with it – as you will have to live with your past failings, whether they are real or merely rooted in your own perceptions."

Cloud stood silently for a long time, obviously thinking. Auron drew back a pace and waited for the young man to either come to terms with what he had told him or come back with another "but."

Finally, Cloud looked back up at him. "You're right," he said. "I… haven't thought this through."

Auron blew out a relieved sigh. "Good. You're not going to continue to punish yourself, then?"

"I guess not." Cloud tilted his face toward the sky and gazed at the stars. "I think I might not ever stop blaming myself for Aerith's death on an instinctive level. But," and at this he locked gazes with Auron again, "I don't think I'll keep brooding about it."

Auron clapped a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Good man. You've made progress." He leaned forward a bit. "Now, I think I'll impart one more bit of wisdom to you before dropping you out of the nest, so to speak."

Cloud inclined his head. "I'm listening."

Auron motioned for Cloud to follow, then began to head back into town. "When we arrive, take good note of the people who call themselves your friends. They have the utmost confidence in your strength. They've followed you to the depths of hell and back and will no doubt do so again, if you ask – and these are no ordinary people, every one of them being worth a hundred others. And yet they see you, Cloud Strife, as their leader." Glancing over his shoulder at Cloud, who was following as instructed, Auron concluded, "In short, you're quite a man. If you ever doubt your strength again, just remember this."

Cloud hesitated, then broke into a genuine smile for the first time in what felt like ages. "Thank you, Auron."

"Not yet," Auron said sharply. "I won't accept your gratitude yet. When Sephiroth has stepped forward in Aerith's image and you strike him down nonetheless, _then_ I will accept any gratitude you tender. I want you to remember this: Sephiroth, in taking Aerith's image, not only attempts to exploit a deep wound of yours, but also mocks all that Aerith stood for. If you agree with me, and call yourself a man, you will not stand for that."

Inclining his head gravely, Cloud affirmed, "I won't."

"Good." Auron blew out a long sigh. "In that case, I'm starving for the first time in more than ten years. Let's go eat."

* * *

Cid stared with a sort of vacant glee at the thing Rufus was offering him. It was almost enough to make Cid take back everything bad he'd ever said or thought about the young little sleaze.

_Almost_.

"We can affix it and its ammunition chamber to the _Shera_ and have everything ready to go in a day," Rufus was saying. "Our teams here specialize in this sort of thing."

They were standing in a giant hangar hidden on the northern continent. The North Crater, generally considered to be the last place of interest before one hit the North Pole, was not so any more. Carved into of the sheer side of the northern continent was a hangar complex that could house three airships the size of the _Shera_ and at least seven more fighter squadrons. Rufus actually had an airship inside, as well as four fighter squadrons. The first feeling Cid had was that Shin-Ra wasn't nearly as crippled as they had all figured it to be once Midgar went down. The second was one of relief when he saw this was actually a World Regenesis Organization base, and Rufus just had access here.

The third was a pure joy when Rufus pointed out the weapon he was talking about.

After surfacing and talking with Rufus, Cid had taken the _Shera_ around to pick up the young Shin-Ra president from his villa on the Western Continent. Rufus had told Cid where to go after that, and now here they were.

Cait Sith, sitting on Barrett's shoulder over the big man's objections, chose that moment to come alive again. "What's the story?" Reeve asked. "I've been busy over here."

"What you could be busy with at a time like this, son, I'd like to know," Cid growled.

"I've been taking care of the financial end of this new weapon Rufus has bought," Reeve growled back. "As well as some… other things. Anyway, the WRO has got good funding, but this was insanely expensive. Rufus, tell me exactly what it is we have here. The acronym 'HGC' doesn't tell me much."

Rufus laughed. "You couldn't just look it up? It's a Heavy Gauss Cannon."

Cait Sith frowned, and Reeve said, "I thought Gauss Cannons were declared impractical because of their power requirements and enormous weight."

"That's the genius of it," Rufus grinned. "A normal ship-mounted Gauss Cannon is indeed impractical. A ship-mounted Heavy Gauss Cannon, with twice the power requirements and weight for four times the effective damage, borders on the insane. That's why I had to have one."

"You gotta fill me in, here," Barrett interrupted. "I got no idea what a Gauss Cannon is, much less what a Heavy one'll do for us."

"The idea's simple enough," Cid replied. "Long story short, you use magnetism to shoot a heavy metal ball down a tube really fast. Really nasty to get hit by."

Barrett nodded. "Sounds sweet. What's the catch?"

"The bigger you make the bullets, the longer the barrel's gotta be and the more energy it takes to fire it. Plus, really good ones that don't tear their own shit up when you fire are hard to make – _expensive_ hard."

"I saw your _Shera_ for the first time about a month before Sephiroth's reappearance," Rufus said to Cid. "It was only a photograph taken by a member of our intelligence division, but I was impressed. It seemed like it was missing something, though, and what with Sephiroth resurrecting WEAPONs I realized what that something was – a big gun." He gestured at the massive weapon sitting in front of them. "And this is a very big gun. Normally you would have to design a plane or airship _around _it – as an accessory to the weapon, as strange as that sounds. As I understand it, though, the _Shera _is special and can probably accommodate it – as well as power it."

The gun was seventy feet long. One of the projectiles it fired had been set next to the barrel for show. The bullet weighed a quarter ton and was the size of a grown man curled into a ball. Cid closed his eyes and imagined blowing it into one of the WEAPONs' faces at almost a kilometer a second.

It was a good image.

* * *

It took Reno a long time to realize that he was waking up, and therefore had to still be alive.

The last thing he remembered was stepping through the portal with Rude and immediately starting to sink into a massive puddle of JENOVA cells. He'd pulled his riot prod and given the things a zap, which had made them spit the two Turks out in a lovely parabolic arc that sent them flying back through the portal from whence they'd come.

"You still alive, partner?" Reno groaned.

"S'pose so," Rude grunted in reply. "Good thinking back there."

Coming fully awake, Reno realized two additional things: one, he was no longer wearing a deepsea diving suit, and two, he was lying in a bed. Rude was in another, identical bed next to his. Their surroundings were cave walls with multicolored, glowing crystal embedded in them. Sitting up, Reno surveyed the area more clearly and saw that they were undoubtedly in the middle of civilization. The floor was tidy and smooth, and there were various articles of furniture arranged tastefully about the room. It looked like they were in an inn.

"You're awake," a new voice exclaimed. "You had me worried there, for a while."

Reno snapped his gaze around to focus on the voice. The speaker was a young man, dark-skinned like Rude, with black hair, a strong frame, and a confident air. He wore a yellow vest and a metal chestguard strapped to it with blue cords, as well as a red and white bracer on his left shoulder.

"Who're you?" Reno asked.

"I'd like to ask the same question of you," the young man replied. "However, since you asked first, my name is Maroda. I'm a cabinet member of the Youth Party."

Reno shot a glance at Rude, who shook his head. Deciding on candor, Reno said, "The name's Reno. My partner's name is Rude. We're not from around here."

"That much I can tell. Muyin Guado, Elder Tromell Guado's protégé, explained to me that we've been having… _otherworldly_ visitors lately."

Reno jumped out of the bed. "Did this Muyin character see a blond, spiky-haired guy? His name's Cloud."

"Muyin said four people exited the Farplane Portal: the legendary guardian, Sir Auron, a man fitting your description, and two black-haired women."

"Where are they?"

"No idea."

It was like Reno had been handed a winning lotto ticket and gotten two gil out of it. He sagged back into a sitting position. "Damn." After a moment of contemplation, he said, "So, Maroda. Seeing as how my partner and I don't know anything about this place, I think you could do us the favor of explaining everything we want to know to us."

Maroda looked taken aback. "I could?"

"Sorry, I meant you _will_," Reno laughed. "Sometimes my tongue slips, eh, partner?"

Rude nodded, getting out of the bed he'd been provided and adjusting his suit. "Regrettably, yeah."

Maroda looked back and forth at the two Turks for several seconds, and then said, "I don't know where to start. I just came here after Praetor Baralai, Meyvn Nooj, and Mechanist Gippal – they're the head of the People's Republic – started acting strange. I thought maybe Elder Tromell would have some advice."

"Little too fast there," Reno admonished him. "Commere." He took Maroda by the shoulder and sat him down on a chair, then gave a hand signal to Rude. His partner looked around for a second, then sighted a luminescent crystal on a small nightstand between the beds of the inn. Rude grabbed it, walked over, and held the crystal upside down above Maroda's head so it shone in his eyes.

"Now, start over," Reno said. "From the top."

* * *

It was still early morning, and the only people on the bridge of the _Celsius_ were Brother, Shinra, and Auron. Everyone else was still sleeping or had declined to be on the bridge. Auron made a note of how Cloud and his friends all reacted with borderline hostility toward the sound of Shinra's name, remembering the company in their world that they'd described to him.

_Coincidence_.

The young Al Bhed genius spoke up. "Hey, I'm getting a message from one of the CommSpheres."

Brother glanced over his shoulder. "What's it say?" he asked. Auron strode over to Shinra's console and motioned for the boy to receive the transmission.

The image of Muyin Guado, protégé of Tromell, appeared on the screen. He was a typical Guado, the only notable thing about him being his long, violently purple hair. At that particular moment, he looked as though he'd swallowed something distasteful.

"Hello? _Celsius_? There are another two… _visitors_ here. They showed up yesterday evening and just now woke up. We have a guest from the Youth Party here who helped get them lodgings…"

"What of it?" Auron asked. "And who are the two visitors?"

"Two human men in strange matching garments, one of them with long, fiery red hair, the other bald," Muyin replied. "And the reason I mention our Youth Party guest is because as soon as the two men woke up, they started _interrogating_ him."

Auron stared incredulously at the young Guado. "You're not serious."

"I am always serious."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Shinra asked, snickering a little.

Auron resisted the urge to tell the boy to shut up and instead tried to calm Muyin down. "We were en route to Djose Temple, but we'll divert course and come pick up your visitors. If they're the people we think they are, this should be an interesting meeting." He motioned for Shinra to deactivate the transmission.

"Hey hey hey!" Brother yelled. "I am the captain of this ship! I decide where she goes!"

"Are you saying you'd like to argue with me about the destination I suggest?" Auron asked balefully.

Brother gave what sounded like a strangled gulp. "No."

"Then get on with it."

* * *

Rude grabbed another chair and smashed it against the wall over Maroda's head. Shattered wood and sawdust rained down on the young man, and the look on his face suggested that he was uncomfortable.

"Partner, calm the hell down!" Reno shouted, grabbing Rude from beneath his arms and pulling him backward. "Go outside and calm down for a couple minutes!" He shoved the apparently enraged man outside and slammed the door.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, injecting sincerity and sympathy into his tone. "He gets carried away sometimes."

Maroda eyed him. "If I recall correctly, _you_ were the one who broke the last two chairs and _he_ was the one telling _you_ to go outside and calm down for a couple minutes. I think you're mixing up your interrogation roles."

Reno snarled and snapped the leg of one of the beds in half with a sharp kick. "Are you screwing with me, kid? I'll rip your head off if you don't talk!"

"Partner, calm the hell down!" Rude could be heard exclaiming from outside. He'd just finished speaking when there was a loud thump and the sound of someone sitting down abruptly.

The door opened, followed by Auron's derisive laugh. The guardian stood in the doorway, staring at Reno. "This interrogation method of yours," he said, "is pathetic."

Reno shrugged. "I don't write the book, I just go by it."

"When it suits you," Cloud added, appearing in the doorway behind Auron. "You have a knack for doing that, haven't you?"

"Your unkind words wound me," Reno groaned, clutching at his heart. "I will go thrust myself from the highest parapet and fall upon my own sword."

"In that order?"

"Shut up."

Maroda stared at them, wondering what the hell was going on.


	11. Chapter XI

Apologies, gentle readers. My lovely beta had a severe sickness of the everything and had to take a rest. Here is the chapter, with my apologies for its tardiness.

* * *

Rather than try to explain everything that was going on to Maroda, Auron opted to tell the young man to lay low and not head back to Bevelle. Then he dragged the two Turks out by their ears.

"What's the cost of the damages?" he asked the innkeeper.

The innkeeper peered inside the room, shrugged, and said, "Four thousand gil ought to cover it."

"Send the bill to High Summoner Yuna," Auron told her. "That's pocket change for her. I, however, am broke."

"We need it paid within thirty days…"

"She'll deliver," Auron assured the innkeeper. _There might not even be a Spira in thirty days._ He glared at Reno. "Apologize to the nice young woman."

Reno tried to free himself, but Auron twisted his ear, eliciting a yelp, followed by a "Sorry!"

"You, too," Auron growled at Rude.

The bald man motioned for Auron to release him. He straightened up, adjusted his tie, fixed his skewed sunglasses, and gave a shallow bow at the waist to the innkeeper. "My apologies."

Auron didn't comment on the marked difference between the two Turks, or even the contrasts in Rude's own personality. Opposites apparently worked well together.

"Let's go," he ordered brusquely, striding out the door, Reno alternately yelling and hopping after him on one foot, his ear still in what felt like a steel vise. Cloud, who had been standing outside, exchanged a glance with Rude and followed.

* * *

Within ten minutes, they were back aboard the _Celsius_, flying toward Djose Temple. The entire party was gathered on the bridge. It was somewhat crowded, but they didn't want to be somewhere without a visual if something happened.

Cloud had privately dreaded introducing the Turks to the Spirans, but it went much better than he'd anticipated. Reno complimented Lulu on her belts and received a frosty "I'm married." He complimented Yuna on her hair and nearly got his jaw dislocated by Tidus, whom Auron had to grab by the hair to restrain. He complimented Paine on her boots and narrowly avoided getting one of them between his eyes. He complimented Rikku on her guns in an especially racy fashion and it took both Tifa and Yuffie to keep her from shooting him.

Rude stood in a corner and looked unperturbed.

"Well, I think we're acquainted now," Cloud observed dryly. "What's our ETA to this temple?"

"Six minutes," Brother replied. "You'd better go get Elder Tromell. Last time I checked, he was still meditating."

"I'll get him up," Lulu volunteered as she noticed Reno starting to slide back towards her through the crowd. "Be right back."

"By the way, Lulu," Shinra spoke up. "You had a CommSphere transmission from Wakka. I let him know you were staying with us for a while. I haven't viewed it yet; would you like to see it?"

"Later," Lulu replied. "Thank you, though."

Cloud exchanged a glance with Tifa. Neither of them had gotten used to the young Al Bhed prodigy – his personality _or_ his name. To say that he was unnerving was an understatement of huge proportions. It seemed to be the same way with everyone else that wasn't from Spira.

_You want to head up to the deck_?

She gave a fractional nod to his unspoken question, and they both faded off the bridge into the lift.

"Hopefully Reno will still be alive by the time we get there," Tifa said jokingly.

Cloud laughed; he did that too little these days. "Hopefully."

Embarrassingly enough, he felt his heart skip a beat when she favored him with a warm smile. "You should laugh more often, Cloud."

"I know."

The lift came to a smooth stop and they stepped out onto the deck of the _Celsius_. In its harness, the First Tsurugi swayed slightly and Cloud reached up a hand to steady it at its pommel. His mind caught up with what was happening when he realized Tifa had slipped her arm beneath the harness to take him into a half-embrace.

"Tifa?"

They kept walking, coming to the edge of the deck. She looked at him with misty eyes. "Sorry. It's just… it seems like it's been forever since we've had a moment together like this."

Cloud closed his eyes and called up his memory. She was right – it _had_ been a long time. Nearly two years, in fact; the last time was when they'd spent the night together sleeping underneath the _Highwind_. Between that moment and this one, they'd either been busy or he'd been under the crippling blanket of guilt, which was not conducive to a relationship.

"I take it that whatever Auron did to whip you into shape has worked."

"I suppose so," he said, a half-smile coming to his face. "He opened my eyes. He showed me how foolish I was to think I was the only person with this kind of pain… and how selfish I was being in thinking that. More importantly than that, I think, he showed me that I have more than just my own strength to depend upon – I have good friends, all very special people, who I can count on in any situation." Cloud turned his head to regard Tifa, whose gaze had turned to the landscape shooting along below them. "That got me thinking about more than just my situation. I thought about the two of us, and how I've been so selfish as to completely ignore your feelings."

Tifa looked up at him, her eyes growing mistier. "You're serious?"

"I never lie, and I never tell jokes," Cloud replied with a hint of a smile in his eyes. "I… never really realized how hard it had to have been for you." Swallowing, he plowed onward. "I don't pretend to know exactly how you feel about me, Tifa. But what I _do_ know is that you've been patient with me for upwards of two years, now, and that speaks volumes. Which got me to thinking… if it's not too late…?"

For a moment the question hung in the air between them, and Cloud felt himself stop breathing.

Then Tifa gave a soft laugh and swiped at her eyes. "You really are a massive bonehead, Cloud. You have to ask that after all these years that we've known one another? I haven't waited for you to come to this sort of conclusion for no reason, you know."

Cloud felt buoying relief surge through him, though it took him a moment to identify the feeling as elation. He'd felt so little of it, it was still an alien experience to him.

Moving as gently as years of battle-honed reflexes and muscles would permit him, Cloud wiped a stray tear from Tifa's cheek and drew her to him. She leaned forward, a sort of excited consent flashing through her eyes.

The side of the _Celsius_ chose that moment to explode outwards. It was a huge detonation, blasting off a huge chunk of the hull and expelling several people with it. Both Cloud and Tifa offered up the same oath simultaneously, pulled apart, and ran to the edge of the deck.

Lulu and Tromell, apparently blown out of the _Celsius_' crew quarters by the explosion, were plummeting down toward the Moonflow below. Without thinking twice, Cloud sprang forward, ran down the side of the airship, and pushed off as he felt himself invert. Tifa was only a moment behind him. Together they rocketed down after the falling pair. They could worry about a proper entry later; right now they had to get Lulu and Tromell into positions that wouldn't snap their necks when they hit water.

Cloud drew even with Tromell. The Guado elder was unconscious, though he looked relatively unhurt save for a shallow gash on the side of his head. That told Cloud the explosion had simply ruptured the hull; the air rushing out of the room was what had pulled Tromell and Lulu out, and the old man had hit his head on the way. He grabbed Tromell by the shoulder and straightened him out as they fell, then rolled over onto his back in midair and pulled Tromell on top of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tifa repeating the maneuver with Lulu, who was also unconscious.

Then he hit the Moonflow. It felt like a jackhammer being driven into his back, but the First Tsurugi and its harness helped absorb some of the blow. He was more worried that Tifa, who had no such protection, might be worse off, but as he pulled himself back to the surface with Tromell he saw her doing the same.

"Anything broken?" he gasped, spitting out water.

Tifa shook her head at him. "Nothing. What _was _that?"

"No idea," Cloud said grimly. "For now, let's get to shore."

* * *

Auron was amusedly watching Reno try to strike up a casual conversation with Yuna while Tidus glowered when the airship shook violently.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Hull breach!" Buddy sounded from his station. "In… oh, hell. The crew quarters!"

"We may have men overboard," Brother yelled. "I am bringing _Celsius_ to emergency stop. All brace yourselves!"

Auron ground his boots into the metal flooring as best he could, and not a moment too soon – everyone else was pitched violently forward as the _Celsius_ came to a shuddering halt in midair. Brother kicked her into a flat spin to keep her from stalling and to pull her around, then started her in a slow hover over the Moonflow.

"Everyone okay?" he asked.

"Cloud and Tifa got onto the lift," Auron replied. "They probably went up to the deck. Not to mention that Lulu and Tromell were in the crew quarters."

"Not looking too good, is it?" Tidus asked grimly.

Yuna was already heading for the lift. "It could be worse. Let's survey the damage."

* * *

Cloud dragged himself and Tromell ashore just as Tifa pulled herself and Lulu out of the water. He checked Tromell's pulse and found it strong and steady.

"Tromell should be all right," he said to Tifa. "What about Lulu?"

Tifa checked the black mage's pulse. "Strong, but it's like she just finished a ten-mile run. If the detonation of a shaped charge knocked her out, she wouldn't have time to be so surprised."

Even as he opened his mouth to ask what, then, could be agitating Lulu so much, the woman's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, clutching at her stomach. She blasted Tifa backwards instinctively to give herself space and then started to vomit.

Cloud swore again and thought Lulu had lost it when it became abundantly clear that the black mage was vomiting up JENOVA cells. He had the First Tsurugi out a moment later and crossed the distance between himself and Lulu in half that time.

Shuddering, she wretched one more time and then collapsed shakily into a sitting position, keeping herself upright on her arms, palms thrust flat against the ground. "It surprised us. It must have come aboard when we landed outside Guadosalam. It had blended into the bulkhead, and when it sprang I tried to hit it with a Firaga and hit the bulkhead instead. There must have been a tertiary fuel line there or something, because the result of my screwup was a big explosion and a mouthful of JENOVA cells."

A shiver ran up Cloud's spine. "Sorry."

"That's twice now I've been targeted," Lulu growled, wiping at her mouth. "First at Kilika, now here."

"Not a skill that usually comes in handy," Tifa quipped weakly. "You're sure that's all of them? They look dead."

"They damn well should be. And yes, I'm sure that's all of them. They didn't have a chance to spread throughout my body." Cloud offered her a hand up, which she declined, getting to her feet. "Is Tromell all right?" she asked.

"He'll be fine, luckily." A moment's inspection of the sky revealed the _Celsius_ drifting back towards them. "I hope Brother doesn't give you too hard a time about the explosion."

"He can try, if he likes," Lulu chuckled darkly. "I can repeat the process with his head if he does."

* * *

Reno got up from the kneeling position he'd assumed to better inspect the large hole in the bulkhead. "Nope, not a shaped charge. Looks to me like something, maybe a spell, set off this fuel line, here. Fortunately, it looks like the line has emergency seals every so often, else the entire ship could've been toasted."

"Lulu, then," Yuna murmured. "She would never do this purposefully. Something must have attacked her."

"Ten gil says Sephiroth's behind this," Reno ventured. "He's apparently got free-floating JENOVA cells to spare – he _did_ resurrect Emerald and Ruby, after all."

The Spirans were, unsurprisingly, confused by this statement, but Vincent, Red XIII, and Yuffie all stared at Reno with unconcealed shock. "Excuse me, _what_?" Yuffie asked. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"You didn't ask, sugar. Besides, it's been busy."

"That's a lame excuse. And don't call me sugar."

"Sure thing, honey."

Vincent laid a restraining arm on Yuffie's shoulder as she instinctively went for her boomerang-shuriken. "Marital squabbles can come later," he deadpanned. "We check the shoreline for Cloud, Tifa, Lulu, and Tromell now."

Brother harrumphed and said, "_Ahem_. I am captain of this ship, and _I_ give the orders around here. Now, do what he said. Buddy, patch the hole."

"Sure thing," Tidus drawled. "I suppose we should just jump down."

"Reno, here's your chance to cast yourself from the 'highest parapet' you mentioned," Auron added.

"Shut up."

* * *

"We ready?" Cid asked.

Barrett, who, much to his annoyance, still had Cait Sith on his shoulder, nodded. Cait Sith also nodded, and Reeve said, "Let's go."

Cid hit a button, and the _Shera_ plummeted down into the ocean below. She now sported the Heavy Gauss Cannon that Rufus had ordered constructed. The thing fired quarter-ton projectiles at half a kilometer a second. Cid had dubbed it the _Not-So-Tiny-Bronco_.

If they encountered Emerald or Ruby, they would pull up out of the ocean and commence aerial bombardment. Water presented no threat to the _Bronco_ when it was inactive, but firing in water was impossible.

"Alright," he crowed. "We should see the cave in three… two… one…"

He was watching the rangefinder, so Barret's loud oath was his first indication that there was something wrong.

"Holy _shit_," Cid murmured.

The cave entrance, as well as the cave complex, was gone. Emerald and Ruby had cored through all the way to the portal, which now lay open to the ocean at large. They had also smashed through the stone separating the larger part of the portal from the water, leaving a giant, semicircular field of magical distortion shimmering there.

Their massive footprints led up to the portal and disappeared.

"So much for our high-tech advantage," Cid growled. "If Auron wasn't full of shit, all his world's got is basic robots and magic."

"I got an idea," Barrett said.

"Should I be scared?"

"Haw, very funny. Put the pedal to the metal."

"'Scuse me? Are you tellin' me to take the _Shera_ into that thing? Who the hell knows where it leads!"

"Listen, if Em'rald and Ruby went through it, it leads to somewhere big enough to hold 'em. Even if it's a bad place to bring the _Shera_ into, we can just poke our nose out and then run if we gotta."

Cid took a drag on his cigarette and scowled. "I still don't like it."

"We can do that, or we can sit here on our asses and play the waitin' game, or we can get into the suits."

"I may not be able to maintain Cait Sith's signal if you head into that portal," Reeve said. "Just be advised."

"You mean it might actually shut up if we head in? I'm for it," Cid barked, a smile creasing his face.

"Very funny. Go ahead, then; I'll keep things battened down here. Sephiroth may still cause some sort of trouble, Junon is in revolt, and Marlene wants a bedtime story."

Knowing that he probably didn't want to know the answers to his questions, Cid slammed the throttle to full. The _Shera_ shot forward toward the portal.

* * *

At a routine meeting of the Senate, a minor dignitary noticed a strange smile blossom simultaneously on the faces of Praetor Baralai, Meyvn Nooj, and Mechanist Gippal. The expression was just as quickly gone, but the impression it left was startling and unnerving.

Deep beneath them, two huge forms coalesced in the subterranean chamber where Vegnagun had resided. The underground complex had already been prepared for their arrival; all the small corridors had been gutted, with nothing but cavernous empty space remaining.

Sephiroth was quite satisfied with his progress.


	12. Chapter XII

Hello again, readers. I'm afraid it's just Schism this week, as I've written three times the length of a Clash of Heroes chapter in academic writing this week and am not yet done. I'm also sorry this is late; see the above. Our normal programming should resume next week.

* * *

"Absolutely not," Brother said. "I'm not taking the _Celsius_ up with a hull breach. We will keep her moored here until Buddy can repair the hole."

The airship was still and silent, floating on the surface of the Moonflow, lashed to multiple trees to keep it from drifting away.

Rikku's expression was a mix of anger and impotence. "It's only a few miles to Djose!" she protested.

"The same could be said of our walking there," Auron told her. "We must respect the wishes of the _Celsius_'s captain. We will walk."

Tromell, who had woken up none the worse for the wear, nodded when the party's gaze moved to him, the eldest among them. "I can manage. A short walk will be good for me, at any rate."

Bidding Brother, Buddy, and Shinra farewell for the time being, the party set off down the Djose Highroad. The road had changed little, Auron noted, in the time he'd been away. There were more bandits on it than he remembered, which did not come as a surprise to him. _In the absence of an all-encompassing threat such as Sin, Spirans return to preying on one another_.

It was a pleasant enough walk, since no bandit would be stupid enough rob such a well-armed group. From where he stood toward the rear of the party, Auron could see the definite changes in their formation. Cloud and Tifa walked closer together, Vincent and Paine remained in step with one another, and more surprisingly, Reno and Yuffie had struck up a conversation that sounded only mildly sardonic. Rikku had latched onto Rude and was trying her best to make him laugh, which he steadfastly refused to do. Lulu and Red XIII were conversing quietly at the edge of the group, and the scraps of their conversation Auron could catch centered around the relationship between magic and materia in Cloud's world.

"I am glad to have been useful at least once before I die," Tromell said to him.

Auron blinked out of his reverie and looked at the old Guado. "Pardon?"

"I served Lord Jyscal for many years as his chief retainer," the Guado elder explained. "When he died, I was deeply stricken with grief, but when Lord Seymour assumed the title and demonstrated his capabilities, I thought, 'Here indeed is a master I can serve to the fullest of my abilities! He has a bright future!'" With a hoarse, sharp laugh, Tromell gazed at his feet as they continued down the road. "What a fool I was, to not have recognized Lord Seymour for his true nature. In my vain hopes, I dismissed all possibility that he was capable of any wrong. I did a great disservice to Lady Yuna and you, as well as the rest of your companions, when I declared you enemies of Yevon. That is why that I am glad to be able to help you in this, so that my life might not be an utter failure."

"Don't talk nonsense," Auron said sharply to him. Tromell looked up from his feet to meet the old guardian's gaze, surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Your life was not a waste in any sense of the word. You served both of your lords to the best of your ability, dutifully and loyally. Their role in the world was completely irrelevant. What matters is that you remained faithful to them, even after their respective deaths, and acted in a supremely honorable manner befitting your station. You did us a disservice, true, but you were only acting in the service of your late master. There is no shame in that."

Tromell continued to hold his gaze for a long while before returning his own to the road ahead. "I sincerely appreciate your kind words, Sir Auron, as well as your forgiveness. However, I cannot agree completely with you. The duty of the vassal to the master must be superseded by what is morally correct. Would you serve a master who went against everything that is right?"

"I did," Auron replied. "I served a fallen summoner, a disgraced man, who had wedded an Al Bhed and conceived a child with her. He had broken every code of our world and had good as wallowed in his own filth while he was at it… according to Yevon." He adjusted his sunglasses. "Tell me, Tromell, is Yevon generally considered to be a paragon of holiness and morality in this day and age?"

The Guado elder laughed. "No, I suppose not. I must thank you again, Sir Auron. Your words are a balm."

"Think nothing of it. I… Do you hear that?"

A general silence descended upon the group as everyone listened intently. A strange, high whistling could faintly be heard, and with every second its volume increased slightly.

"What is that?" Tidus asked.

Cloud abruptly noticed the shadow spreading on the road ahead. "Everyone back up! Something's falling!"

They backed hurriedly away, the shadow now growing rapidly. The whistle rose to a fever pitch a moment before something dropped out of the sky, landing with a thunderous crash.

When the dust cleared, Cloud carefully approached the thing.

"What is it?" Yuna asked.

"It… looks like a musket ball, or a bullet," Cloud replied. "But it's huge!"

Everyone moved closer. Embedded in the earth in the center of a large crater was a metal sphere, about the size of a grown man curled up into a ball. Steam rose from it, and Cloud felt the First Tsurugi being pulled toward it, even from where he'd sheathed the sword in the harness on his back. Whatever purpose the ball served, it was obviously related to magnetism.

"Do you think it was Sephiroth?" Lulu asked.

"No," Cloud replied. "He'd have attacked with JENOVA cells, nothing this obvious. Someone else fired this – and not necessarily at us, I don't think."

"The Djose Temple could be in danger," Yuna exclaimed. "Rikku, the Machine Party still has a base there, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Maybe they were test-firing a new weapon, but you'd think they'd have the sense to fire it out into the sea and not towards the Djose Highroad. They might be under attack!"

"Hurry there, then," Tromell told them. "I will catch up with you later – I'll only slow you down."

"We can't leave you alone on the road with all these bandits around," Tidus refused flatly. The words were barely out of his mouth when the air a meter in front of him erupted into a fiery explosion, scattering sparks everywhere and making him jump back.

Tromell lowered his upraised hand and said, "I appreciate the sentiment, young man, but Tromell Guado is not so helpless that he cannot deal with a few bandits."

Chuckling, Auron nodded. "He meant no disrespect. We'll wait for you when we've determined the situation. Let's go!"

* * *

Even from a distance, they could see smoke rising, and something seemed very wrong.

As they got closer, the two sharpest-eyed members of the group – Vincent and Red XIII – both stopped running and stared in surprise at the same time. Cloud kept running, wondering what was going on; when he saw what had happened, his face went white.

Stone was scattered everywhere, and what had probably been a temple had been completely demolished. Out of the rubble protruded the front end of the _Shera_, now sporting a monstrous cannon along the chassis. Cloud assumed it was the source of the projectile. Even as they drew nearer to the scene of the disaster, the _Shera_ gunned its engines and burst free of the rubble to hover above the ground.

They finally came within earshot, and even over the low whine of the airship's engines, they could hear a familiar voice.

"…the hell do you mean, we wrecked your base? You shouldn't'a built a goddamn base over a dangerous portal to another world, sonny! No, don't go talkin' in that weird language! The hell? Are you disrespectin' me? Shut the hell up, _I'm_ askin' the questions here!"

"Cid," Cloud muttered as he ran. "He of all people would take the _Shera_ into the portal."

"So that giant ball that dropped on us was from that new cannon?" Yuffie asked. "Damn, what _is_ it?"

"Looks like a gauss cannon to me," Reno ventured. "I felt my riot prod being pulled towards the projectile – it was really magnetic. Gauss cannons use magnetism to fire bullets, but this one… it's huge."

"I _said_ shut the hell up!" Cid continued. He was standing beneath the bridge of the _Shera_, arguing with several hostile-looking Al Bhed standing around him. Cloud had to assume Barret was at the ship's controls. "Take off those damn goggles while I'm talkin' to you, boy! And what the hell's with that mask of yours? You some kinda gang?"

"Cid!" Cloud shouted.

The grizzled old pilot looked up from the Al Bhed he was cowing and exclaimed, "Cloud! 'Bout time you showed up! Another minute and I'd have been worried!"

Cloud, who had drawn up to within an arm's length of Cid, resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What the hell is going on? How did you get the _Shera_ through the cave into the portal?"

"Long, bad story," Cid replied. "Let's get inside away from these weirdoes so you can fill me in and I can tell you what's up."

Yuna came to a stop behind Cloud and stared at the temple, her face a study in shock. Finally she managed, "The Djose Temple… Created almost a thousand years ago… destroyed…"

With a grin, Cid stepped forward and shook her hand vigorously. "Pleased to make yer acquaintance. The name's Cid."

* * *

Aboard the _Shera_, in her recreation center, Cid massaged his jaw. "You didn't haveta hit me so hard, kid. A slap on the hand woulda done just fine."

Yuna just gave him a _look_. Cloud resisted the urge to whistle at the intensity of it. They'd apologized to the Al Bhed assigned to look after the temple until the Machine Party had a use for it again, and had told them if their superiors wanted someone to compensate them for the temple, High Summoner Yuna would take full responsibility.

"He could just as easily have come out in Guadosalam," Auron pointed out to her. "It would have been much harder to explain away than the destruction of one temple that only the Machine Party uses – and very little, at that, or so it seems."

After another moment of the _look_, Yuna turned her gaze to Auron. "You're right, of course. I just wish that Djose Temple hadn't been destroyed."

Cid shrugged. "I coulda left the _Shera_ stuck in there, but I love her too much. That, and I wanted to test my new toy. Is it really my fault that the temple went down?"

"The projectile nearly damn well hit us," Reno growled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was _purposeful_."

"Kid, I wouldn't waste a shot from this baby on your skinny ass."

"Say again, old man?"

"Calm down," Cloud ordered brusquely. "_Now_."

Reluctantly, Reno sat back in the chair he'd grabbed for himself, and Cid resumed his insolently relaxed posture on one of the couches. The rest of the party stood or sat around the room.

"All right. Cid, you were saying that Emerald and Ruby – who Reno and Rude conveniently failed to mention until very recently – opened up the portal and must have gone through?"

"Unless they just felt like wreckin' shit," Barret rumbled, "I'd say that's what happened." Cait Sith was no longer on his shoulder; just as Reeve had predicted, he'd lost his signal when the _Shera_ went through the portal. The mog sat, lifeless, on the low coffee table, looking forlorn in an amusing way.

"We know these things didn't come out here or in Guadosalam," Tidus said. "We also know that Tromell closed the portals in Besaid and Kilika." The Guado elder nodded gravely. "That leaves us with these places to visit: Bevelle, Baaj Temple, Remiem Temple, and the Sunken Cave in the Calm Lands. There's also Macalania, but…"

"But?" Cloud prompted.

"The temple was stone suspended in a giant frozen lake," Yuna said. "Without the Fayth, the temple… well. We couldn't get to it where it is now. Not even with this weapon your airship has."

Cid barked, "Fine. No idea where the rest of these places are, but the _Shera_'ll get us there lickety-split and then some."

"What about the _Celsius_?" Lulu asked. "Should we tell Brother that we don't need him anymore? And in that case, what about Rikku and Paine?"

"We'll stay with you if you decide that you don't need the _Celsius_," Paine immediately spoke up. "We've come this far, right?"

"Agreed," Rikku added.

Leaning forward in his seat, Auron said, "That's out of the way, then. Now, before we talk about our next move, we need to discuss Sephiroth's interest in getting rid of Lulu." His statement was met with general murmuring and nods of approval, so he continued. "First, he tries to seduce her with a false image of Wakka's younger brother, Chappu, and get a promise that she will no longer help us out of her. When that fails, he defaults to attacking her, forcing JENOVA cells down her throat in a surprise attack, obviously in an attempt to infiltrate her system and kill her that way. The rest of us, with the exception of Cloud, have been ignored by comparison. We have also seen that Lulu's magic is particularly effective against JENOVA cells. I conclude, therefore, that Sephiroth sees her presence as a very serious threat to his operations."

"Makes sense," Yuffie agreed. "Why, though? Any of us can take down a JENOVA copy. Lulu can just do it better and faster."

"That's what bothers me," Auron said. "Considering the effort Sephiroth has expended trying to kill or otherwise negate the threat Lulu poses, it has to be more than the fact that she's a black mage. Yuna and Tromell are also accomplished practitioners of magic. Sephiroth only targeted Tromell on the one occasion, I think, because Tromell can close Farplane portals. Also note that the only time Sephiroth actually ambushed all of us with the intent to kill was when Lulu was not present – namely, when she was standing guard outside Besaid Temple."

"So you think Lulu poses some special danger to him?" Cloud asked.

Auron nodded. "And we need to figure out precisely that is and how to use it to our maximum advantage. When we're ready to get through the rubble here and close the Farplane portal, let's see if we can't coax Sephiroth to send out some JENOVA cells. If he refuses to, then we'll know we're right."

He was going to continue, but to everyone's surprise, Rikku started beeping. She started, giggled nervously, and hit a concealed device on the inside of her claw-glove.

A rough voice squawked out at her in Al Bhed. "Rikku! Oui drana?"

Cid groaned loudly. "More of that?"

"Quiet," Cloud told him.

"Oac, vydran. Fryd tu oui fyhd?" Rikku asked.

A minute of incomprehensible Al Bhed followed. Rikku, clearly uncomfortable under the force of the entire party's collective stare, ended it quickly before looking up, embarrassed.

"Well? What was that about?" Reno asked.

"Apparently, one of Rin's travel agencies in the Calm Lands has reported trouble," Rikku replied. "Dad said he's going in his airship and that he wants me to come along. I've told him where I am, and he says he'll be here in ten minutes."

"Cid's coming with the _Fahrenheit_?" Lulu asked. "Interesting."

Cid looked confused. "Who's coming with what?"

"Funny coincidence, really," Rikku said. "My dad's name is Cid, and he found himself an airship back when we Al Bhed were just machina scavengers. He named it the _Fahrenheit_."

"You'd think that airships were something you just tripped over in the street, what with the accounts we've heard about where you get them," Tifa observed drily.

Tidus countered, "Oh, no. It was a pain. Back when I first came to Spira, I helped Rikku with that. Had to swim down to some ancient ruins and start up the dock's power systems again so we could find the ship itself. Very annoying."

Leaning forward slightly in his seat, Cloud said, "Well. Let's go."

* * *

Lulu had excused herself to view Wakka's CommSphere transmission. The little devices had become extremely popular, and many people kept in touch with their distant relatives through a rapidly expanding network. She'd sent Wakka a message telling him she would be aboard the _Celsius_ and to forward his messages there. As they were leaving the _Celsius_, she'd had Shinra give her a blank sphere onto which she moved Wakka's transmission.

Now she stood on the bridge of the _Shera_, which was deserted and seemed like a good enough place to watch Wakka's message.

Lulu hit the button on the sphere's casing that it rested in, and it began to play.

Wakka's image blossomed above the sphere, wearing his usual goofy grin. "Heya, Lu. I got a blitz game in ten, so I have to keep this quick – sorry. I know you won't hold it against me, ya? Hope you're having fun doing whatever it is you're up to. Wish I could be there, but we're in the tournament finals. Vidina's doing well, though I bet he'll be happy to see you again when you get back, eh? I found this nice girl, professional babysitter, to look after him while I'm blitzing. She works for a company and everything – can you believe it? All sorts of weird companies keep popping up since Sin went down." He grinned and added, "She couldn't make it today, though. A guy showed up and said she'd come down with a little cold. Funny-looking guy, too. Grey hair, real pretty features. Bet he had a rough childhood."

Lulu felt her blood turn to ice.

"He asked me to tell you Vidina's safe with him and that he'd contact you if anything went wrong – weird-looking, but nice, eh? Well, hope this gets to the _Celsius_ and everything – I gotta run. Love you."


	13. Chapter XIII

Hello again, dear readers. No Clash of Heroes this week because I was in New York and too busy to write it. I swear this is the last time. Also, this is late because my beta sent it to me late. Take it up with her. I warn you: she has eye lasers. Enjoy!

* * *

The expressions of the group ranged from horrified to profoundly disturbed as Lulu played Wakka's message back for them.

Wakka's image dissolved into white light and then disappeared, signaling the end of the message. Reno stood up. "Just what the hell do you _see_ in him?"

Lulu stuck him with a poisonous glare. "He couldn't be expected to know about Sephiroth. I can't hold him accountable for this, but I have to go and see if it's only Vidina that Sephiroth has or if he's holding Wakka too."

"If Mr. Grumpy here volunteers to check out the Calm Lands, I'm sure that Pops could give you a ride to Luca," Rikku assured her.

"Who the hell's grumpy?" Cid snarled. "Stupid broad, I'm the most lovable sunuvabitch you'll ever meet." He returned his gaze to Lulu. "Don't you worry. If 'Pops' is as much of a stiff as everyone says he is, _I'll_ take ya wherever ya gotta go."

"Speaking of, there he is," Tidus said from the window. The _Fahrenheit_ was visible, flying up to within visual range of the _Shera_.

Yuna mustered a comforting smile for Lulu and announced, "We'll go out and meet him."

Shouldering the Masamune, Auron stood and headed for the airlock. "Don't forget what we came here to do in the first place. Assuming that Lulu is accompanied by a group of us to go to Luca, the rest of us should see this portal to the Farplane closed. Then we can continue on to the Calm Lands to close the one at Remiem Temple and the one in the sunken cave."

Outside, the _Fahrenheit_ shot out docking tethers that latched into the ground and cliffs surrounding what was left of the Djose Temple. It came as close to the ground as was wise, extended a ramp, and disgorged a group of people.

"Let's go," Cloud said. "This should be interesting."

* * *

They exited the _Shera_ and stepped out back onto the earth to be confronted with four people. Among them was Rin, now the most wealthy entrepreneur in Spira; Nhadala, now chief of all Al Bhed archaeological operations; Isaaru, whose presence seemed surprising to Yuna; and the leader of the Al Bhed, Cid. Officially, Cid was also the head of the Machine Faction, but when the People's Republic had approached him, he had told them that he was too old and irate to be a politician and had delegated the responsibility to Gippal. When Gippal had told Cid that being old and irate was a staple for politicians, Cid had told him to shut up and respect his elders.

Silence reigned as Cid, master of the _Fahrenheit_, and Cid, master of the _Shera_, strode forward and sized each other up.

The tension in the air thickened until it was almost palpable. Everyone, whether they knew what was going on or not, felt that something momentous was about to happen.

Abruptly, the two airship captains exchanged a short, vigorous handshake.

"The name's Cid," the Al Bhed leader said.

"Likewise. Nice ship."

"Likewise."

And it was over.

Cloud clicked his jaw shut. "The _one person_ that he gets along with from word one… is himself."

Auron chuckled. "You were perhaps expecting a fistfight?"

Unnoticed by the rest of them, Tidus grimaced, pulled out fifty gil, and handed it to Rikku, who gave him an _I-told-you-so_ grin.

"Well, aren't we the cheerful-looking bunch," the _Fahrenheit_'s captain growled. "What's going on, now?"

"We have a situation," Auron replied. "Lulu's son has been taken hostage – one of you needs to take her there so she can investigate."

"So you really are back," Cid murmured. "I always thought you were a tough bastard, but not tough enough to pull yourself out of the grave."

"It was a coincidence, really."

Cid turned his attention back to his Gaian counterpart. "So, will you take your fine ship and investigate the Calm Lands for me if I take Lulu to Luca?"

"Sure thing." Looking over his shoulder, the _Shera_'s captain asked, "Who's goin' with her? If Sephiroth shows up in Luca, she'll need help."

"You're not going back to our world anytime soon, are you, Cloud?" Reno asked.

"No."

"Then Rude and I might as well go. From the looks of things, you were doing fine before we showed up."

"You give us too little credit," Yuffie snorted. "But, hey, you'd be lost without me. I'll go, too."

Cloud exchanged a glance with Tifa and asked, "Are you sure about that, Yuffie?"

"Can't have the dynamic duo going around unsupervised, can we?"

He gave her a thin smile. "In that case, Vincent, Red XIII, could you make sure Yuffie doesn't hurt herself?"

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Yuffie screeched. "You think I need a vampire and an oversized plush toy for babysitters?"

"That sounds acceptable," Red XIII replied, humor glinting in his eye.

"All right," Vincent agreed. "Paine, are you coming?"

"I think so, yes."

"Then it's settled," Auron said. "You all will go with Cid on the _Fahrenheit _to investigate Luca. If you find Wakka there, make sure to secure his cooperation. The rest of us will see this portal closed, then go with Cid on the _Shera _to the Calm Lands."

Tidus grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

The group focus shifted to Lulu, who was discreetly swiping at her eyes. Embarrassed, she said, "Thank you. I… I know this is inconvenient, but…"

"Don't you apologize for nothin'," Barret told her sternly. "A child's one of nature's goddamn blessin's. If anyone made a fuss 'bout you goin' to make sure yours is okay, I'd shoot 'em. Nobody could be that cold-blooded – not even Valentine."

"So glad to hear you think that," Vincent told him humorlessly. "Shall we meet up with you after we've investigated?"

"Meet up with us, yes, but only after you've made sure that Vidina is safe," Auron replied. "His well-being comes first." Cloud inclined his head in agreement.

"One thing, first," Yuna said. "Isaaru, what are _you_ doing here?"

"My job," Isaaru replied mildly. "Since Zanarkand was left to be at peace, I went to Cid and asked for a new profession. As it happened, Nhadala needed an assistant, and I always enjoyed flights on the _Fahrenheit_ before."

"And you, Rin?"

"I was coming to investigate the possibility of expanding the small inn here into a Travel Agency," Rin replied, the corners of his mouth curving into a slight smile. "However, I think it best if I look for a different development site."

Cid coughed and pretended to look innocent.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the _Fahrenheit_ was in the air again, on its way to Luca. Cid had graciously shown his new passengers to the guest quarters he'd had installed before telling them their ETA to Luca was three hours.

Now Lulu sat in the small room she shared with Yuffie. The ninja-girl was stretched out on one of the two beds, staring at the ceiling and humming absently to herself.

"Tell me something," Lulu said suddenly.

Yuffie levered herself into a sitting position. "What?"

"You didn't come just because Reno and Rude would be 'lost without you.' Why did you really decide to come along and help me?"

"I came, didn't I? Shouldn't that be enough?"

Rising, Lulu locked gazes with the younger woman. "Rest assured that I have no objections to your presence. I'm just curious."

With a small sigh, Yuffie fell back into the mattress. "You're right. I guess… This sort of reminds me of what happened to my own mother."

"What did?"

"Back when I was real young – not more than a child – Wutai, my hometown, went to war with the Shin-Ra. We were strong fighters, but the Shin-Ra, with their technology, and their SOLDIERs, who were humans modified to be ultra-strong, beat us. My mother died in that war." She shifted her posture on the bed slightly. "I lost my mother, and I don't want your son to lose his – or vice versa. I'm not usually this preachy, mind you, but this is something I felt like I had to do."

"I understand," Lulu assured her. "Thank you."

"So… when did you and funny-hair meet?"

"_Wakka_ and I grew up together on Besaid," Lulu replied, "along with his brother, Chappu. It was Chappu that I loved first, though. And, sadly enough, it was Chappu that died."

"Is that all?"

"I can't say that things wouldn't have been different if Chappu was still alive, but Wakka is very dear to me. He's a good father."

Yuffie smiled and nodded, then suddenly went cross-eyed and curled up into a ball. "Oh, no… it's back…"

"What's back?"

"My… motion sickn- _oh GOD_!" Without another word she exploded out of the room and down the hallway.

Lulu poked her head out into the hallway to see Yuffie running in the direction of the elevator to the deck. In her haste, the ninja-girl nearly bowled over Reno, who was heading back to the room he was sharing with Rude.

Interestingly enough, instead of yelling after Yuffie, Reno turned to watch her retreating back for several long moments, then shook his head. Lulu realized that she was looking into business that was not at all hers and pulled back into her room.

From the room adjacent wafted the sound of Paine laughing gently at something Vincent said.

* * *

Magic burst from Tromell's outstretched palms and enveloped the now-massive portal to the Farplane. It shimmered and died, leaving nothing but a hole that now had a bottom.

"To the Calm Lands, then?" Cloud asked.

"I would say so, yes," Auron replied.

"What are these Calm Lands, anyway?" Tifa spoke up. "Are they the sort of place you'd be expecting trouble in?"

"No, which is why Cid found the reports so telling," Yuna explained. "The Calm Lands are essentially one large, grassy plain adjacent to a massive gorge in the earth, caused by a battle between Sin and one of the High Summoners that defeated it. Aside from the normal population of fiends, it's very placid."

"Did you fight Sin there?"

"No, we defeated it near Bevelle. Previously, when Sin was killed, it would be reborn again after a span of time, and the cycle would continue. The gorge merely marks the spot of one of its deaths."

"D'you think there could be anythin' in this gorge?" Cid asked her. "Something that might be causing the trouble?"

Tidus shook his head. "No way. Nothing could live there without any ground under its feet."

"Well, what else could be causing the problem?" Cloud asked. "What would be going through these Calm Lands? If it's something Sephiroth resurrected in this world, and it had to travel to his base of operations…"

He raised an eyebrow as the Spirans on the bridge gave one another a simultaneous, startled look. "What?"

Yuna moved to a nearby slab of rock, obviously shaken by whatever revelation they had just arrived at. "Well… there is _one _possibility."

"No way!" Tidus protested. "The Omega Ruins are way south. If he was going to Bevelle, he'd go in by sea, right?"

"But Sephiroth doesn't want to cause a stir," Auron pointed out. "Were I in his shoes, and trying to bring an incredibly large and dangerous monster into Bevelle without being noticed, I would have it take the long route along the coast, head through the mountains to the east of the Calm Lands, and then make straight for Bevelle. The Calm Lands are still not well-traveled, correct?"

"There's sort of an amusement park there now," Tidus replied. "But it'd still be easier than going through Macalania, you're right."

"What are you all talking about?" Tifa asked. "What could it be?"

Auron looked at her, his expression somber. "Omega."

* * *

Disembarking from the _Fahrenheit_, Lulu immediately set out to her home. The rest of the party followed her.

They passed through the entertainment district of Luca and entered the residential area. "It's down this street," Lulu called to her companions, who were having trouble keeping up with her through the crowd of people. "Since Wakka's here to play blitzball, the city provides us lodging."

They arrived in front of the building. It was a modest two-story structure like Lulu had described, keeping with the architectural styles of the surrounding neighborhood in its gentle curves and stone construction.

"All right," Reno said. "Rude and I'll head around and enter through the back, on the second story. The rest of you, go in through the front and hit whatever's in there head-on. We'll back you up."

"Since when were we following your orders?" Yuffie asked.

"No, he's right," Vincent told her. "It's a good approach." Resting his hand on Cerberus, he headed for the door. "I'll go in first."

Reno and Rude headed down the alleyway between Lulu's house and the one to its left. Vincent gave them five seconds, then looked to Lulu.

She nodded.

Carefully, Vincent tested the knob on the door. It was locked, and he looked at Lulu again. "It shouldn't be locked if somebody's home," she told him. "And it's only five in the afternoon – certainly not late enough to warrant locking up for the night."

"That's settled, then," Vincent said, and without further preamble kicked the door in. Lulu sighed and returned the key to her belt.

He advanced inside, Cerberus at the ready. It was a tastefully furnished house, done mostly in blue hues, and appeared to be completely deserted. Lulu entered behind him, followed by Yuffie and Paine, both of whom also had their weapons at the ready.

"Wakka!" Lulu called. "Are you here?"

Silence.

Yuffie felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise to attention and she whirled around to find nothing but the front door swinging on broken hinges. With a low sigh, she turned back around to find that she was alone.

_Ohh, not good_.

The ninja-girl took an instinctive step backwards and bumped into somebody. Before she could react, a steel vise took her around her throat and everything went black.

* * *

Reno slipped in through the window, then turned around and reached a hand out. Rude grabbed it and Reno hauled him up and inside.

They stood in what appeared to be the bedroom. There was a bed and a crib adjacent. Inside the crib was what appeared to be a small bundle of purple cloth. Reno exchanged a glance with Rude and moved toward the bundle, slowly and carefully.

It didn't stir as he approached the crib. Keeping his riot prod at the ready, Reno moved to peer down into it.

Rude saw Reno look down at the bundle and abruptly stumble backwards, head snapping up and back, eyes rolling up in his head, to land unceremoniously on his back, unconscious. The bundle had smashed into his face in one movement and now hovered in midair for one moment of clarity before Rude felt an impact against his sternum. He was lifted off his feet and slammed into the far wall of the bedroom.

The last thing he saw was his sunglasses flying off his face.

* * *

Lulu woke slowly and painfully. When she tried to move, she found she was unable to. Coming further awake, Lulu saw that she was sealed into a hardened cocoon of JENOVA cells up to her neck. Next to her were her companions, similarly captured, all of whom were unconscious – even Vincent.

_Damn. He was waiting for us_.

"We're awake now, yes?"

Taking stock of her surroundings, Lulu concluded that they were in the den, cocooned up against the far wall. Seated in a loveseat dragged around to face her was Wakka.

"Wakka? What… wait."

"Not so dull today, are you?" Wakka sneered. "Or perhaps merely not so enamored with this face as with _this_ one." Wakka's head melted and reformed into Chappu's.

"Sephiroth," Lulu growled. "What do you want? Where are Wakka and Vidina?"

"First, let me tell you that if you make any attempt to escape, every single one of your companions will die," Sephiroth told her. "Make no mistake: you're fast, but I'm faster."

"I asked you a question!"

"I have no idea where your husband and son are. By the time I located this house, they had already headed for Besaid, thinking to meet you there when you returned from your little escapade. The CommSphere transmission detailing my supposed kidnap of your son was just to lure you here."

Lulu felt relief flood through her, only to be followed by a new thought: that Sephiroth wanted _her_ here.

"What do you want with me, then? Why have you been targeting me?"

"You pose a certain danger to my plans," Sephiroth replied. Chappu's form melted in its entirety and reformed itself into the young, grey-haired man in black that Lulu had seen on Besaid. "I hold no particular reservations about killing you, but at the same time you are much more useful to me alive." He stepped forward to within inches of her and stared into her eyes. "Rest assured that I entertain no sentimental fantasies about you. That is behind me at this point. This is a proposal for a venture that could prove to be mutually beneficial."

Lulu held his gaze for a moment, then spat in his face. "There's my answer."

Sephiroth withdrew, no emotion showing on his features. He wiped the sputum from his face with a hand and said, "In that case, I will have to do without your cooperation." He extended his other hand and touched the tips of his fingers to Lulu's face. She bit his thumb, but he didn't twitch. JENOVA cells began to bleed from the ends of his fingers, burrowing into Lulu's skin. "I will not give you the opportunity to remove these from your body in the same way you did the last ones."

Lulu's vision went black. She felt as though metal fingers were skittering and scraping through her mind, and pain radiated in hot blasts where Sephiroth's fingers touched her skin. She tried instinctively to cast a spell, but the thought was crushed to dust by a sharp stab in her mind before she could summon the energies. Straining against the cocoon enveloping her was no more productive.

"There is no hope for you," Sephiroth told her. "Accept your fate. I offered you the chance to cooperate, but you refused, and this is the price of refusal."

Lulu tried at the least to scream, in the vain hope that somehow someone could hear, but her voice died in her throat. The metal fingers in her mind pried deeper, deeper… and she felt something give way.

Sephiroth had won.


	14. Chapter XIV

"So," Cid said, trying his best to sound pleasant and failing. "Omega, eh?"

They were on the _Shera_, flying toward the Calm Lands. Compared to the _Fahrenheit_, the _Shera_ was in another class of vessel entirely, and the trip was smoother than anything the Spirans had ever experienced.

"Yeah" Tidus replied, his usual cheer absent. "We tracked him down in his home, the Omega Ruins."

"Like rapists in a dark alley."

Yuna turned bright red. "We fought him," she said, ignoring Cid, "and defeated him. But that was three years ago, when we were at our best, and he still came closer to killing us than even Sin did."

The smile Cloud had kept doggedly fixed on his face was slipping. At his side, Tifa covertly gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He returned it, wishing it could convey more of what he felt. They'd had no time to themselves since Lulu's misfiraga – a term Yuffie had jokingly coined and that nobody had laughed at. "How bad can he be?" Tifa asked sweetly.

Interestingly enough, the answer came in the form of a lancing beam of bright yellow-orange energy that slammed into the bridge of the Shera from two miles away and buckled the armored viewscreen.

Cid swerved the ship out of the way. "Holy shit! The hell was that?"

"He never did that while we were fighting him," Auron observed calmly. "Clearly his resurrection has made him more dangerous."

As the ship drew closer, they could see a huge, four-legged form slowly moving across the Calm Lands. Enormous wings curled up tightly behind the shoulders of the beast; he had two humanoid arms in addition to his massive legs, each with four splayed talons. His arms terminated in five-fingered hands with armored, segmented fingers that curved forward at the joint, an unnerving detail that made them seem less than human. Compared to the rest of him, Omega's head seemed relatively small, but splaying out behind it was a great crest with five protruding horns, and his head was flanked by two tusks, each the size of a man's arm.

"Great," Tidus muttered. "Maybe we should just turn around and pretend we didn't see anything. I know this great place in Luca…"

"No," Yuna told him mildly.

"Okay, fine."

Cid laughed. "I can see who wears the pants in yer relationship, sonny. Better tighten yer belt an' learn to take it." He ignored the look Tidus gave him and said, "Three seconds 'til party time."

"Party time?" Cloud asked.

The pilot let the sonic boom of a projectile breaking the sound barrier answer for him. The _Bronco_ spoke and sent its ammo screaming at Omega, with the result being…

Nothing.

A magical shield sprang up in front of Omega; the projectile slammed into it, dispersed all its momentum, and thudded to the ground.

"Interesting," Auron murmured. "His proficiency with barriers has not changed."

Cid's jaw was clenched so tightly it looked ready to snap. "Thanks for the warnin' FIVE SECONDS AGO!"

"You might've said something about what you were going to do," Yuna replied placidly.

"I figured you could tell from the giant gun on the bottom of my ship!"

"I try not to make assumptions – like, for example, assuming that an ancient and powerful living weapon wouldn't be able to deflect my attack."

Cloud grinned. "She got you."

Cid sighed. "That she did, an' I'm man enough to say so. Now, what _should _we be doing?"

Omega interrupted by hitting the bridge with another beam of energy. Cid cursed and pulled the _Shera_ away again, but not before the viewscreen had begun to glow red. "What's a good spot to aim at?" he asked, swinging the airship back around to get another firing solution. "Maybe we can hit him in a place he isn't expectin'."

"Try for his hind legs," Auron told him.

Omega's wings unfurled from behind him. Cid swore as bluish-white energy began to build along their lengths, quickly growing in radiance. The pilot leaned forward, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheel. "Come on, you sunuvabitch."

The glow from Omega's wings erupted into a swarm of energy bolts heading straight for the _Shera_. The viewscreen was still cooling off; a hit now would certainly shatter it and kill them all. Cid was on top of things, though, and the _Shera_ dropped fifty meters within a half second, handily ducking beneath the attack. Cloud felt his stomach jump up into his throat and his ears ring as the _Bronco_ spoke again.

Perhaps it was because Omega had expended much of his power, or because Cid was not aiming for the beast's head; regardless, Cid's attack this time was devastating. The projectile tore straight through Omega's flank, snapping his spine in two before exploding out his other side. The weapon collapsed to the ground, bleeding and spent.

"Score!" Tidus exclaimed.

There was little time for celebration, however, as Omega got back up. His rear legs, despite the absence of a spine, secured themselves against the ground and pushed up, inexorably, until he was once again standing normally. Even at a distance, they could see the wounds regenerating.

"Foul ball," the young blitzer sighed.

* * *

Vincent came slowly awake for the first time in what felt like ages. He normally had an immediate transition from wakefulness to sleep and vice versa – then again, he hadn't been rendered unconscious by anyone for a long time.

His situation was poor: Cerberus was sitting on a table across the room, and he was encased in what felt like a cocoon of hard rock. A moment's inspection revealed that it was composed of petrified JENOVA cells. Paine was to his left, and the rest of the party was in similar straits. Directly to his right was Lulu, who was being assaulted by…

_Sephiroth_.

Even though Vincent was sure the body was nothing but a JENOVA simulacrum, it was definitely Sephiroth who was assaulting her. JENOVA cells poured from his outstretched hand, burrowing into the skin of her face. She was screaming silently in pain, her voice failing her. Sephiroth's face was expressionless, but his eyes focused so intently on the writhing black mage that Vincent could have sworn he was enraptured by her.

Immediately, Vincent took stock of his situation again, only this time pertaining to what he could and could not do. What he could not do was break free. Even his enhanced strength would be insufficient to that task.

What he _could_ do was pull his left arm from its gauntlet, which had been wedged in place by JENOVA cells but carelessly left so that he could free himself.

Vincent gritted his teeth at the prospect. His companions all thought that his left arm was simply what it appeared to be – an arm wearing a large gold gauntlet tipped with formidable claws that could tear a man's face off if he was indelicate. The arm, however, was not ordinary. It was sheathed up to his shoulder in black leather.

In battle, Vincent relied almost entirely on Cerberus. He'd struck foes with his gauntlet before, but if he could avoid using it he did. The one time that Yuffie had asked him why, he'd given her a baleful look and she'd shut up about it.

The truth was that he wore the gauntlet so the arm would have little choice but to obey him. It was true that he didn't understand completely what Hojo had done to his body, or how these terrible entities he now shared a body with had come across him. What he did understand was that the arm was dangerous on its own without its gauntlet. He wore the armor to restrain it until he needed it.

Paine stirred beside him. "What… what's going on?"

"Stay still," he said, eyes fixed on Sephiroth, who was still focusing entirely on Lulu. "This may get ugly."

He hunched his left shoulder down, then pulled up with all his might. With a slick popping sound, his left forearm, clad entirely in a black leather glove and sleeve, came loose. Paine gasped audibly; she had apparently taken the gauntlet to be a prosthesis as well. For the first time, Sephiroth's eyes flicked away from Lulu to rest on Vincent.

Vincent struck.

More to the point, he gave the arm the impression that Sephiroth represented a particular danger to its continued existence and let the arm do the rest. It flexed and burst the leather sleeve before drawing back and striking out, extending like elastic to smash through Sephiroth's face. His body staggered back from Lulu and the flow of JENOVA cells stopped. Vincent grimaced as he felt the arm invert its hand so the fingers all bent fully backwards, then grab a piece of the interior of Sephiroth's head and snap back to its original length. It ripped out a dripping chunk of JENOVA simulacrum with it and dropped it to the floor.

Lulu, though she looked only partially in control of herself, had been given the chance she needed. A spell from her shattered all the JENOVA cocoons that held them. For the first time, anger blossomed on Sephiroth's quickly-regenerating features.

The arm was concerning Vincent too much to notice at that point. With a supreme effort, he forced it back into his gauntlet, but not before everyone – except perhaps the half-dazed Lulu – had gotten a full view of it. The surface of the forearm was iridescent and had a scalelike quality. The hand was furred, though the fur itself was also iridescent, and terminated in long talons that fit quite nicely into the gauntlet's matching set. It was like muscle fashioned onto a rubber skeleton, and it twisted this way and that and stretched and contracted freely until Vincent had it in the confines of the gauntlet again.

Reno and Rude were only half-awake when Lulu had shattered the cocoons, but now they were fully conscious, in no small part due to seeing what Vincent kept under the gauntlet.

"Vincent! Our weapons!" Paine yelled at him.

Sephiroth had ceased to be humanoid and had devolved into a huge mass of swelling black that oscillated back and forth in the space between them and their weapons, which lay on the table in the room adjacent. Vincent sprang forward, pulling his cloak around him as he went, and a moment later he was on the other side, standing in front of the table. He felt the mass behind him shift angrily and he grabbed Cerberus instinctively. If he'd been a hair slower, it would have been close; as it was, Vincent turned and fired into what had to be the ugliest thing he'd seen outside of his nightmares before it could strike at him.

It was a large worm, like Reno and Rude had described seeing in the underwater reactor. A long, muscular body the color of dead flowers terminated in what Vincent assumed to be the head, as it had a gaping mouth full of interlocking fangs, topped with compound eyes.

Vincent's shots took it in two of its many eyes and in its mouth, slowing it just enough for him to leap out of the way of its charge, which splintered the stone of the wall. Moving while he had an opening, Vincent tossed Paine her sword and Yuffie her boomerang-shuriken, took another look at the worm to make sure it was still extricating its teeth from the wall, and then threw Reno his riot prod.

He would have thrown Lulu the peculiar moogle that she'd brought, but she was on her knees, clutching at her head, her eyes blank.

Vincent felt the worm's renewed charge behind him just before Paine came up from the side and hit it with a fierce uppercut that sent the head arcing into the air for a leaping follow-up charge from Rude. As it came down, Reno darted in and smashed it across the eyes with his prod, finger on the red button the entire time. Vincent switched to a triple burst and double-tapped a pair of them into the mouth.

For one heartbeat it looked as though the worm was going to continue, but it thudded lifelessly to the floor then and there, collapsing into a pool of dying JENOVA cells that dissipated almost instantly.

His face an expressionless mask, Vincent observed, "This wasn't nearly damaged enough to be unable to revert to a cloud-state. Sephiroth's given up."

A satisfied aura settled over the group, then evaporated just as quickly when a horrible buzzing sound hit them. Vincent whirled to behold Lulu, blue lightning arcing from her fingertips, electrocuting herself to death.

* * *

"If the _Bronco_ did jack-all against that thing, how d'you figure you'll do any better?" Cid thundered. "You can't go fight it!"

Tidus was about to snap off a reply when Cid veered the _Shera_ sharply to starboard, dodging another swarm of energy bolts. Omega had apparently lost none of his strength or magical potency.

Instead, Auron spoke up. "Cloud, you've obviously fought beings composed of pure JENOVA cells before. How did you defeat them if they possessed such regenerative capabilities?"

"We wailed on them until they just couldn't take it any more," Cloud replied with a shrug. "Not elegant, but it works. Think of it just like our bodies. We heal our wounds, too – JENOVA cells just do it faster until they run out of energy."

"And a hit from this formidable cannon wasn't enough to kill it?"

"Don't look at me. We've never really had to fight JENOVA-powered beings like this, just people who were injected with the cells. Maybe the resurrected monsters' abilities get powered up by the JENOVA cells. I don't know."

"Less chitchat, more strategizing," Cid barked. "Should we or should we not turn tail and wait for our Luca team to make contact?"

"It's up to you, Gramps," Rikku said abruptly. "Though, wouldn't it be a good idea to try to keep Omega in the Calm Lands if we decide to pull out?"

"The _Bronco_ should certainly be capable of sealing off the entrances to the Calm Lands," Auron expounded. "This will buy us some time to not only close the two portals we came here to see neutralized, but also to await news of Lulu and her son."

Cid nodded sharply. "Sounds good to me. Just point me to where we need a wall of rubble and I'll let the _Bronco_ do the talkin'."

* * *

Reno swore and crossed the room in a leaping dash to try to pry Lulu's hands away from her head. He grabbed her wrists and immediately felt the current hit him. All his hair stood on end and his muscles began to spasm at random, but he ground his teeth together and kept pulling against Lulu's arms, which absolutely refused to move. Yuffie and Rude were only a moment behind him, grabbing him by his underarms and also pulling. Yuffie gave a small hiss as the electric current, having lost little of its potency, hit her, and Rude grunted as his sunglasses began to spark.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over, and the three of them flew backward as Lulu's iron grip on her head relaxed to nothing. She was pulled to her feet and she wavered there unsteadily for a moment until Vincent stepped in and put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Yuffie cried from where she lay sprawled on the floor.

Lulu touched her fingers to her temples and Vincent tensed, ready for her to try to kill herself again, but she merely began rubbing at them as though she was in pain, which was no small surprise. "I'm fine now."

Reno blew on his burnt hands and said, "You mind explaining just what the hell happened?"

"I… Well. I suppose I can, but let's make sure everyone's all right first."

They took inventory of themselves. Reno had the worst injuries – a purpling bruise on his forehead where the false bundle had struck him and burns on his palms. Yuffie and Rude also had burns on their palms, though more minor ones, and the skin on Rude's face was also burned where the metal frames of his sunglasses had rested. Paine and Vincent were relatively uninjured.

Reno flopped, exhausted, into a chair, being careful of his now-bandaged palms. "All right. So, should we take it from the top or start with the electrocution thing?"

"The electrocution thing _would_ be nice," Yuffie suggested, only a mild hint of sarcasm coloring her voice.

Lulu flicked a bit of hair out of the way of her right eye and said, "I was killing the JENOVA cells that Sephiroth had forced into my body. It's my magic, so I'm not affected by it."

"If you hit yourself with a spell, it still hurts!" Yuffie protested. After receiving various glances from around the room, she quickly amended, "Not that I'm speaking out of, like, personal experience or anything."

"Of course not. It's a technique only some magic users develop. The only two people here besides myself who can learn it are Yuffie and Paine. It's because of this technique that Sephiroth's been targeting me."

"If this technique of yours is so dangerous – and you'll need to explain that, too – then why isn't Sephiroth attacking everyone who could develop it?" Paine asked. "Why just you?"

"It takes a long while to learn, for a particular reason. What's the difference between myself and you, Paine? And between myself and Yuffie, for that matter?"

"Simple," Rude said. "You're a mother."

"Precisely. Vidina's growth inside me has changed me. My basic maternal instincts combined with my higher magical learning and insulated him from any spell of mine that I could cast. I first became aware of this some time ago, and later found that the protection expanded to include myself after Vidina was born. I'm not immune to any other magic, just my own."

Vincent interrupted. "Fascinating, but Sephiroth hasn't used an ounce of this world's magic in any of our encounters with him or his JENOVA cells. I fail to see how this poses a particular threat to him."

"It's the way the technique works that's a threat to him. My subconscious recognized Vidina's unique presence within me and influenced my magic so that it would not work against him because of his… presence. I'll call it his 'signature.'"

"Go on," Vincent said.

"Because of our interaction while he was in my womb, the technique associated my own signature with maternal protection and thus immunized me to my own spellcraft. The signature is the key. Sephiroth controls his JENOVA cells through telepathy when they're not in direct contact with whatever functions as a body for him. Telepathy is a two-way street, meaning that just as easily as he penetrated my mind, I found that I could read his. That, incidentally, is how I deduced all of this."

"You played Sephiroth at his own game," Reno murmured. He gave a low whistle. "No wonder he's pissed at you."

Lulu nodded at the Turk before continuing. "At first the technique was instinctive, but I've learned to control it to some degree. If I could feel your signature, Vincent, I could cast any number of spells at you and not harm you. Think of the way I do this as a sort of magic magnet. Your signature is of a particular charge, so I modulate my spellcraft to be repulsed by that particular charge and it won't touch you."

"Then, logically, you would be able to do the reverse," Vincent finished for her. "You would be able to lock onto a signature and modulate your spellcraft so that it was intensely attracted to the charge the signature carried. Using the JENOVA cells' link with him as a conduit, you would even be able to locate Sephiroth's unique signature in the Farplane and send your magic to strike at him."

"Yes, which suggests that he's vulnerable to such an attack." Lulu smiled, though there was little joy in the expression. "His efforts to nullify this threat have made us aware of its existence, which is very good indeed."

A general feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment spread through the room infectiously, until everyone but Vincent was smiling. He waited for the questions he knew were going to come.

"Before we celebrate," Reno spoke up again.

_Here we go_.

"What was up with that arm of yours? I thought the gauntlet _was_ your arm, or you just wore it for fun, or something."

Vincent allowed himself the tiniest grimace. "Long explanations are not my strong suit. Suffice it to say that my left arm is where my inner demons, and I use the term quite literally, normally manifest themselves. I keep it in a gauntlet so it will remain under control."

"The arm isn't yours, then?" Lulu asked.

"It's as much mine as your hair is yours, but can you stop your hair from growing? You can't, no more than I can stop this arm from reacting to the demons' will and not my own. The only way to stop your hair's growth is to cut it, or, in my case, contain it."

"The gauntlet helps, then?"

"They won't try anything unless they have freedom of movement. As you saw, the arm's rather elastic. It has to be, really. Imagine if all of us controlled Reno's right arm simultaneously. We would sooner cause it to break itself than operate it properly, so a certain amount of slack is built into my own arm. It's this slack that the demons exploit, and so I restrain it with the gauntlet. That keeps it under control until one of the demons is needed. I suppose you could find all kinds of symbolism in this fact, but it's just the way I've always found it to work."

Reno leaned back in the chair. "Must be tough," he said to Paine, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Razor-taloned metal gauntlet, or demon arm that might go off and do all sorts of weird shit at a bad moment. Such _choices_."

The grey-haired girl's only response was a smoldering stare that stuck Reno on the wall like a bug.

"Well, we're all still alive, and we've figured out how to hurt Sephiroth better," Yuffie said a little too loudly. "It's been a good day, huh?"

Cheered exclamations of agreement answered him, and things began to look a little brighter. "Is there anything to eat?" Rude asked Lulu in his typically straightforward fashion. "I'm hungry."

Lulu gave a low laugh, looking amused at Rude's apparent disdain for social niceties. "Wakka and Vidina don't eat _that_ much. I'm sure they left something behind. In the meantime, I suppose I should welcome all of you to my home. Make yourselves comfortable."

In response, Reno's grin widened and he murmured something that made Yuffie flush red.


	15. Chapter XV

The _Bronco_ spoke again and sent another wave of rock crashing down from the cliffside to seal off the path to Mount Gagazet. They'd already similarly blocked the path to Macalania, dodging hails of energy the entire time. Omega was clearly uninterested in giving up.

"Alright," Cid barked. "Now then, you mentioned two more Farplane portals hereabouts, Yuna."

The ex-summoner nodded. "Yes. Over that way is Remiem Temple, where the three Magus Sisters were joined into a single Fayth so that they could always be together. Then, past this path, down in another section of the gorge, is the Fayth of Yojimbo. I don't know his history; he didn't reveal much to me."

"Which one first, then?"

"Let's go to Remiem," Auron interjected. "There is enough room there for the _Shera_ to hover and escape the attention of our uninvited guest."

"Sounds like a plan. Any objections?"

There were none to be heard.

"Let's hurry, then," Yuna suggested. "I'm worried about everyone who went to Luca. They could have run into trouble and we wouldn't even know it."

Lifting up into the air, the _Shera_ then descended into the crater holding Remiem Temple.

* * *

Red XIII, who had been on guard outside the airship while the rest of the party investigated Lulu's house, padded silently through the _Fahrenheit_. The ship was moored on the water in the Luca docks, rocking gently with the motion of the tide.

On the bridge, Cid was staring at the sphere oscillo-finder, muttering to himself about something. He saw Red XIII's distorted image through the holographic projection and stood up straight. "Well, if it ain't the furry one. So, anythin' to report?"

"The party has returned from Lulu's house," Red XIII told him. "Wakka and Vidina are safe and probably on Besaid; the ransom was a ruse on Sephiroth's part to lure Lulu into a trap, which they dealt with. Lulu will be staying at her house tonight in case Wakka tries to contact her there. Vincent and Paine have volunteered to stay there and serve as backup in case Sephiroth tries another attack, though we doubt he will. The rest of us will stay on the _Fahrenheit_. Tomorrow we head for Besaid to confirm that Wakka and Vidina actually went there as we've been given reason to believe."

"Sounds good to me," the Al Bhed leader said. He turned his attention to the _Fahrenheit_'s pilot, who was snoozing at the terminal. "Rao, Giaeggo! Neca yht creha, oui mywo vuum. Fa'na cdyoehk vun dra hekrd."

The pilot, whose name was Giaeggo insofar as Red XIII could discern, choked and woke in mid-snore, sitting straight up. He said something to Cid, who returned fire with another volley of Al Bhed; the two traded invective for a minute or so before Giaeggo, sufficiently cowed, returned to his duties of staring out the cockpit and keeping watch.

"Rather a crass young man," Red XIII observed after the pilot walked out.

Cid stared at him. "You understood that?"

With a smile that showed the slightest flash of fang, Red XIII replied, "Ouin language ec hud cu tevvelimd du belg ib."

"I'll be damned. You really are a genius, like your friends say. Where d'you come from?"

"Nowhere you would know." He turned about and began to walk off the bridge. "Tomorrow, be sure to wake us early. We need to be at Besaid before noon."

"You insultin' my airship, son? It'll take us an hour or so to get there, tops."

"Suffice it to say that we may have an interesting time getting everyone ready to go."

"You sound awful confident."

"I simply have good intuition."

"I'll take you up on that, then. We'll see how smooth everything goes tomorrow morning. What kinda stakes we talking about?"

Red XIII was about to suggest that he simply receive gloating rights, but then an idea occurred to him. It was a nonessential, trivial thing that he could probably get any of the Spirans to give him, but why trouble them when he could "win" it?

So he told Cid his stakes.

* * *

All the men in the party except Cid and Tromell heaved and grunted against the door to the Remiem Temple's Chamber of the Fayth. The two of them stood nearby with the women, watching as four grown men failed to open the door to the Chamber.

"Cid," Cloud forced out between gasps. "Stop… standing there… and… help us… with this… _door_!"

"No can do, kiddo. I'm supervisin'. Gotta make sure none of you screw up and get yerselves hurt."

Tifa gave the old pilot a shove toward the door, and he gave a put-upon sigh as he crouched down and also tried to pull the door up.

"Why the hell's this thing so damn_ heavy_?" Barret growled. "How d'you expect to get inside?"

"It used to open on its own," Yuna told him. "I know that doesn't help us now, but…"

Cloud continued to struggle with the door, panting. "The one in Kilika was nowhere near as heavy. Why is this one so much worse?"

"It's not heavier. The mechanisms are just in poor shape from disuse. I was the only summoner to receive this Fayth since Belgemine, an unsent summoner who tutored me in Aeon combat, and only heaven knows when _she_ found this place."

With a growl, Cid stood up, crossed the room to where he'd leaned his lance against the wall, grabbed it, and headed back to the door. He shoved the head of the polearm beneath the door and started pushing upward. The effort seemed to be making a difference; slowly but surely, the stubborn mechanisms finally yielded and the door rose. Rust showered down on the men, who gave various profane exclamations of disgust.

"Well, that's over with," Rikku said cheerfully. "That wasn't too bad, huh?"

Tidus turned around and glowered at her. "Oh, yeah, not bad at all. My back'll never be the same, but not bad."

"No sign of any JENOVA cells," Auron observed. "Tromell, I think it's safe for you to go in." The Guado elder inclined his head and walked into the Chamber of the Fayth, flanked by Cloud and Auron. After checking the door to ensure it wasn't going to fall back down, everyone else followed them in.

What immediately struck Cloud about the Farplane portal there was not its size. The Fayth had been larger than most, as it comprised three Aeons instead of one, but what Cloud noticed first was the odd sort of pressure emanating from the portal. Even odder, when he strained his eyes and looked closely, he could see what looked like small puffs of magic wind shooting out from it. On a whim, Cloud moved forward to the edge of the portal, crouched beside it, and tried to reach his hand into it, ignoring his companions' sounds of surprise and warning.

He could reach into the portal, alright, but there was a strange sort of resistance in his way.

"Come here and feel this," he said to nobody in particular. "It's resisting me."

Frowning, Yuna crouched beside him and mimicked his gesture. "You're right. There's an odd magic resistance here that I've never felt before. Almost like trying to reach through a cresting wave…"

Tidus eyed the portal. "Is it particularly dangerous?"

"Doesn't appear to be," Cloud replied.

Tromell exhaled and began gathering the magic to close the portal. "It will be but a moment," he said to them. "Performing the Rite is much easier if one has done it recently."

They waited. Ten seconds passed, and Tromell's expression grew confused. "Odd. I feel the same resistance that Cloud and Yuna have described, but not on a physical level. It is complicating my closure of the portal. I must gather more power."

"Do you need help?" Yuna asked him.

"I should be able to handle this." Not three seconds later he gave a sharp cry of victory and magic burst from his fingertips, swirled into the portal, and closed it. Cid walked over to the hole in the floor and tossed a coin into it; the sound of the gil hitting the bottom rang clearly.

"That's done, then," Auron said. "Let's hurry to the Fayth of Yojimbo, lest our makeshift barrier fail to deter Omega for the necessary amount of time."

* * *

Dusk had fallen on Spira, and Luca was beginning to take on an artificial glow as the sun fell beneath the horizon and people started lighting lamps. Vincent and Paine had retired to the guest room, the rest of the party had left, and now Lulu lay in bed, too tired to do anything else with herself but unable to fall asleep.

Her mind raced wildly, flitting here and there like the wind. Reno had dryly called the past twelve hours a "busy day," and she found herself compelled to agree with him. What would Sephiroth's next move be, now that she knew that she could strike at him through any JENOVA cells he sent against her? She wished she could put herself in his shoes so as to divine what she would do, but Sephiroth was too much a stranger to her. Her mental contact with him while he invaded her mind had been too brief to get any sort of impression of him.

Lulu rolled over in the bed and tried to close her eyes, but found them fixed on an object in the corner of the room. She tried to make it out in the darkness, then finally gave up on that, got up, and coalesced a small flame in her palm. Its flickering light revealed that the object was Wakka's prized blitzball, the World Champion.

_Oh, no. Wakka of all people _would_ forget his Celestial Weapon_.

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than the sound of the front door opening sounded in her ears.

"Lu? You there? It's me!"

_Wakka_!

Lulu extinguished the flame and moved out of the room down the stairs. She entered the den to find Wakka standing there, looking around in a fashion that suggested he was looking for the World Champion. Vidina was at his side. The young boy had grown enormously in the past year and a half. He only approached his father's knee, but he could already toddle about by himself. He had Lulu's ruby eyes and pale skin, and his father's orange hair and strong jaw. Rather than being mismatched, the different aspects of young Vidina's appearance complemented one another, and Lulu suspected he would prove to be quite handsome in his later years.

"There you are!" she said.

Wakka turned to face her with a grin on his face, and Vidina also toddled himself around to see his mother. "Lu! I can't tell you how good it is to see you!" He moved across the room and took her into an embrace, then yelled and jumped backward as she hit him with a tiny electric current. "What's that for?" he asked, rubbing at his side.

"Just making sure that you're yourself," Lulu replied, smiling. "It's a long story that I'll tell you later."

"If you say so," Wakka said doubtfully. "Whatever it is, we can worry about it later, ya? I've missed you." This time she stepped forward and embraced him, drawing his face to hers for a brief kiss as well.

"Has Vidina behaved himself?" Lulu asked, moving to kneel down in front of her son and look him levelly in the eyes. The young boy nodded obediently and gave his mother a smile.

"Vidina's been a good kid. 'S matter of fact, he made me remember that I forgot my ball. You know where it is?"

"It's in the bedroom. You left it on my side of the bed."

"Aaagh. I should've known."

"Have the two of you eaten?"

"Yeah, on the road back here."

"I think, then, that we should put Vidina to bed and have a little chat."

* * *

The portal to the Farplane left by Yojimbo's Fayth closed, and Tromell gave a small sigh and his shoulders slumped. "That was even more difficult than the last one. I wonder what's happening."

"The resistance to my hand was stronger this time, too," Cloud said. "Very weird. I can't think of any reason why these portals would start doing this."

"I got a theory," Cid announced. "Not much more'n the idea, but I think it could explain this."

Yuna looked at him. "Please, tell us. Any idea you have is better than staying in the dark."

"Well, I see it like this. You say the souls of the dead go to the Farplane. But how do they get back out? Maybe these portals do more'n just let people into the Farplane – maybe they let souls _out_. Souls, magic, whatever.

"Now, you figure that after a while, there'll be a hell of a lot of souls in the Farplane. Enough, maybe, that it'd start to get stretched a little thin, if y'know what I mean. It might start to sort of boil over, like a pot with too much water in it.

"But maybe the souls can't get out, or maybe only a few can get out, because there are too many people in the _living _world. There's got to be a balance, right? So until some people hurry up an' die, the Farplane gets unstable. Then you guys close a portal, which means the 'pressure' of all the dead folks is suddenly pushin' on one less outlet. Some of them get forced out. But it relieves the pressure, an' then you reopen your portal and everythin's fine.

"But now we're closin' all these portals, when there isn't any pressure problem. We're makin' one just by doin' what we're doin'. An' it's startin' to show."

"I see what you're saying," Cloud said slowly. "What you're suggesting is that the Farplane builds up this sort of magic pressure inside it that it tries to vent through Farplane portals. So, the more portals we close, the less areas it has to vent this magic through, meaning the areas it has left have a stronger outward flow."

Yuna rubbed at her temples. "It does make sense, if I think about it… but there have only been multiple Farplane portals since the Vegnagun Crisis. How do you account for that?"

Surprisingly enough, it was Barret that answered. "Haw, I get it. An' who's to say that jus' 'cause a hole's covered means nothin' gets out of it?"

"Barret's right," Tifa agreed. "Wow, I can't believe I just said that."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead an' mouth off."

"I'll bet you anything that these portals have always been here," Cloud said. "They were just used for the Fayth, I guess. Now that the Fayth are gone, the portals are accessible in both the Farplane and in this world."

"I suppose that makes Bevelle the exception to the rule," Yuna murmured, "as the Farplane portal there is a good distance beneath the Fayth that used to be there. Still, Cid, your theory makes good sense, and could very well explain why we're encountering this resistance."

Scratching his head, Tidus asked, "I get everything else about your theory, but about the periods of instability – you say that they were because there were too many dead people in the Farplane. But people are always going to be born and die, right? So wouldn't the Farplane keep getting bigger and bigger as long as Spira existed? Wouldn't we have to make new portals to deal with that?"

"That, I can't explain to you, kid," Cid replied. "Who knows? Maybe when all of these Fayth things were built, they threw off the equilibrium of the world. What I _can_ explain to you is that if we keep closin' these things to keep Sephiroth out of the rest of the world, we may not be able to get into the one in Guadosalam for the forces comin' out of it."

"And if we can't do that, we won't be able to confront Sephiroth where he has nowhere to run to," Cloud finished. "That can't be allowed."

Nodding, Yuna said, "Well, insofar as we know, the only portals left in the world are in Guadosalam and Bevelle. I don't think Zanarkand has a portal of its own – Zaon's Fayth was long dead by the time even Lord Ohalland arrived to receive his Final Aeon."

"Are you so sure that you would risk leaving Sephiroth an escape route?" Auron asked. "We should still investigate it, to be safe."

"You're right. I just want to get back to Luca and make sure that Lulu and everyone who went with her are all right."

* * *

Reno reclined on the deck of the _Fahrenheit_, sulking. He'd changed the bandaging on his hands and gone back to the room he shared with Rude to find his partner and Red XIII sitting at the table in there, playing a game of chess. When he'd made a snide comment about how the game didn't seem to suit either one of them, as Rude had no brains and Red XIII no opposable thumbs, they'd thrown him out.

He heard the sound of the elevator ascending, followed a moment later by footsteps coming toward him.

"Not in the mood for company right now, thanks," he said loudly.

"Not even _my_ company? I'm hurt." Yuffie plunked herself down on the deck adjacent, cocked her head to one side, and regarded him. "So, what're you doing up here?"

"Rude and that furball wouldn't let me kibitz on their chess game," Reno drawled. "Yourself?"

"My roommate's out with tall, dark, and gruesome, so I'm bored."

"You're joking."

"Hey, there's nothing to do on this damn ship! They don't have any video games or _anything._"

Reno chuckled. "By the way, I never got the chance to thank you for your help earlier."

"What help?"

"You were trying to pull me off of Lulu when she looked like she was frying herself. I appreciate the sentiment."

Yuffie gave him a playful punch on the arm. "I wasn't worried about you, you dolt. I was trying to help Lulu."

"Uh-huh. I saw what you were doing."

"You liar."

"Am not," he protested, giving her a mock shove.

"Are too." She shoved him back.

"Am _not_."

He must have shoved harder than he thought, because Yuffie came around with an explosive "_Are TOO_!" and brought her first around to smash him across his face.

It didn't hurt much, considering that she wasn't particularly strong and that Reno had been hit much harder – that damn weirdo Loz came to mind – but his reaction was unchanged. Reno rebounded and tackled her, grabbing her wrists to push them behind her back. Yuffie fought back, and they rolled around on the deck of the _Fahrenheit_, struggling with one another.

Eventually they came to a grinding halt. Yuffie sat on top of Reno, her hands pressing his arms to the deck. "I think I win," she said, a grin on her face.

"Think _again_!" Reno shoved off his left shoulder and their positions were reversed. "Just try it, sugar."

He was ready for her to try to repeat his maneuver, but the foot that she planted in his stomach was more than he expected. With a swift shove, Yuffie sent Reno flying over her to land roughly on his back, then rolled backward onto him. "I'm back on top, _sugar_."

Reno pitched himself violently forward and ended up more on top of her than he'd planned. "Where's the bit where you give up and dramatically swoon into my arms?"

"I think swooning's out of the picture at this point. We sort of have to be standing for me to do it."

"Right, right. What comes next? Oh, yeah." Reno mimed using a bottle of breath spray. "Am I too far off?"

Yuffie's response came by way of her grabbing him by his collar and covering his mouth with her own. Ten or twelve snide comments that Reno had in reserve were effectively blown out the back of his head, and he had a split second of total clarity in which he realized how much he'd wanted her.

When they finally came up for air, Reno laughed. "Well, I know there's some protocol here, but I forgot my lines."

The ninja-girl gave him a look. "Why don't you try being sincere for once? I don't know about any protocol or lines. I can't tell if that's you or just an act."

"Well, I _can_ say with all sincerity that I missed you. We didn't start off on the best of terms, but… I always thought there was something special about you."

Yuffie grinned at him. "Do tell. What's so special about me, then?"

"Honestly? You remind me of myself."

"I guess I'm flattered."

They kissed again, oblivious to the world.


	16. Chapter XVI

Yuffie woke to the sight of Red XIII's nostrils about an inch away from her eyes. She gave what might have been generously called a squeal of surprise and he pulled back instantly. "Good, you're you."

"What d'you mean by that?" Yuffie demanded.

"It's two hours to noon, and everyone else is ready to go, except Lulu, who hasn't shown up yet. Rude said Reno never came back to his room, so we checked in yours, but found that empty, too. I was beginning to get worried when Giaeggo noted the elevator to the deck had been in use last night. Therefore, I checked up here and found you in this rather compromising position."

Yuffie opened her mouth to ask what compromising position the red furball was talking about, then decided to sit up and survey herself. She was stretched out on the deck, having apparently fallen asleep there. In her lap was Reno's head, and the Turk seemed to be still asleep.

"Oh, _god_."

"Count yourself lucky that I am not of the sort to demand due compensation for keeping your secret."

"What? Oh, right."

There was a snorting sound, and Reno woke up. "Morning. Anybody ever tell you you're a good pillow, Yuffie?"

Red XIII looked at both of them and gave a disturbingly human-like shake of his head. "Just remember that we are in no need of further complications. If Sephiroth attacks, neither of you can be caught with your pants down – figuratively or otherwise." That said, he turned about and padded back to the elevator.

The two of them stared at one another for several long moments, and then Reno gave a short laugh. "I think that was the first joke I've ever heard Red XIII make."

"Same here. Okay, get off me."

With an insolent grin, Reno snuggled up against her thigh. "But you're so _comfy_." He quickly sat up when she got ready to knee him in the ear. "Apparently comfiness has nothing to do with good personality."

"Keep this up and I might regret kissing you."

* * *

Lulu stirred. The first thought that crossed her mind told her to get up and check the time. Wakka was still snoring contently next to her, and she saw no need to wake him, so she quietly slipped out of bed, pulled a robe about her, and moved downstairs to open a window.

The view through the open window told her two things: one, that they had overslept and were probably holding up the _Fahrenheit_; and two, that the house was surrounded by a People's Republic strike team. They'd cordoned off the entire neighborhood, and their neighbors were standing outside a veritable wall of warrior monks.

Just as quickly as she'd opened the window, Lulu slammed it shut, hoping that nobody had noticed the movement. The Yevonites were undoubtedly here to investigate her ties to Vincent and Red XIII, who had fought their way out of Bevelle upon first arriving in Spira and so provoked the wrath of the People's Republic.

_Of course. Now that Sephiroth can't fight me face-to-face any longer, he'll just send grunts to do it. Vincent and Red XIII already mentioned that the heads of the Republic have apparently been possessed by him – and we've been too preoccupied with the portals to have done something_!

Lulu was ready to fight her way out, but the monks still managed to take her by surprise. The front door was kicked open for the second time in as many days, and the hastily repaired hinges just gave up and snapped, sending the unfortunate slab of wood flying. About ten of them squeezed through the doorway at once, leveling rifles at her. "Don't move!"

Slowly, Lulu raised her hands and turned around. The monks, clearly expecting resistance, shifted nervously and tried not to meet her piercing gaze.

"What business," she asked as calmly as she could, "do you have in my house?"

One of them, apparently the leader, cleared his throat and said, "You're under arrest for sedition and conspiracy with a pair of known criminals. We need you to come with us."

Lulu gave him a poisonous smile. "And if I fail to comply?"

"We'll have to shoot you. Our orders are very explicit."

The smile evaporated from Lulu's face, replaced with a look of anger that could probably melt ice. Her robe began to billow as power coursed through her, and to the monks it felt like a stiff breeze was hitting them in their faces. "You think," she hissed, "you would have a chance against me for even a _moment_?"

"Lu!"

It was Wakka. "There're monks in here with guns! What did you do _this_ time, eh?"

"How did you come to the conclusion that this was _my_ fault?" she bellowed up at him.

"They say they're only here for you but that they'll shoot me and Vidina if any of us give 'em trouble! What's the plan?"

Lulu fought down the urge to blow up the entire house and be damned with it. It _was_ on lease to them from the Lucan government, and if they wanted to lodge a complaint with a guardian of High Summoner Yuna, she was more than happy to shoot them down.

_Vidina's still too fragile. If Wakka landed on his head it would be no problem, but that's not true for everyone here_.

Lulu finally lowered her arms and said, "All right. I'll come with you as long as you guarantee the safety of my husband and son."

"Don't worry. Our orders don't say anything regarding them if you decide to cooperate." The monk shrugged. "Lady Lulu, I really _am_ sorry about this, but the order is straight from Praetor Baralai."

"I'm not surprised," Lulu growled.

"We have an aircraft waiting outside to transport you back to Bevelle."

Lulu sincerely hoped that the monks were being straight with her and that Wakka and Vidina would be spared harm. The fact that they were being separated again after so short a reunion galled her, but it only served to solidify her resolve to see Sephiroth taken down.

_I'll find some way to turn this against him. I swear it_.

The monks closed in on her.

* * *

Cid stared incredulously at Giaeggo, who was giving the impression of being backed into a corner by angry bees. "Damm sa dryd oui yna zugehk. Ruf luimt aekrd destroyers ryja pmulgytat ic eh?"

"Speak something we can all understand!" Reno shouted from the back of the bridge.

Already on edge from the situation, Cid turned about and snapped at him, "Watch your tongue, redhead, or I'll acquaint you with the ocean floor! Understood?"

"Yeah, sorry."

Cid held Reno's gaze for a moment before continuing. "Giaeggo says that we've been blockaded by eight Yevon destroyers. The damn things wouldn't make a lick of difference if we were in the air, but as it stands right now, they'll blow holes in us before we can lift off."

"This airship doesn't have any weapons?" Rude asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

"The _Fahrenheit_'s got plenty of guns, sonny, but they ain't a damn bit of good if we can't hit anything with 'em! The main guns are forward-fire only. The missile bays are another matter, since we still have some homing missiles, but we need to pinpoint targets with the sphere oscillo-finder, which runs on power generated by the engines."

"Meaning we need to start the engines to fire missiles at the destroyers," Vincent said. "And they will undoubtedly fire on us as soon as they see the engines start."

"That's precisely the situation we're in, kiddo. Unless you have some way of getting the _Fahrenheit_ into the air within a second, and high enough that she can start her engines without falling out of the sky, we're done in."

"These main guns of yours," Red XIII interrupted. "Can they be fired underwater?"

Cid looked at him. "…Yeah, I suppose so. They're lightning-based, but it could be done. Why?"

"I have a plan."

* * *

After having flown overnight with no rest to reach Zanarkand, the only thing on Cloud's mind was getting the job done here so he could go to sleep.

He hefted the First Tsurugi and brought it down in a crushing attack on the Zaon Fayth. The long-dead statue shattered into thousands of pieces and fell… and there was no sound of it hitting bottom.

Instead, a gale-force wind blasted out of the bottomless hole, and it was sparking with magic. Biting back an oath, Cloud leaped backward and batted at blue-green embers in his clothing. "Well, now we know that there's a portal here."

Tromell gave it one look and began gathering power. "I fear that this will prove too much of a strain on me to allow me to close another portal for some time," he said. "If it is a dire emergency, I can teach you the Rite, Lady Yuna, but…"

"We'll keep that in mind, but only if it _is_ a dire emergency," Yuna promised him. "The Rite is for the Guado."

"Thank you, milady."

Auron moved to the edge, heedless of the sparking magic billowing out of the portal, and stared down into it. "The backflow's much more pronounced than the one in the Sunken Cave," he noted. "I wonder if it will continue to build exponentially."

Cid looked up from his cigarette. "Y'all know about exponents?"

"We Spirans are nowhere near as advanced as you, but we _have_ made some mathematical progress in the past thousand years," Auron replied with what was about half a sneer, half a sad shake of the head. "Perhaps what we're looking at here is not a finite amount of pressure inside the Farplane, but instead a limitless flow."

"Everythin's got a limit," the old pilot disagreed. "It's why infinity's just a concept and not an actual number."

"Not necessarily." Auron reached his hand into the magic wind and plucked out a spark. It shimmered there at the end of his gloved hand, and he drew a circle in the air with it before it fizzled out. "Where does the circle begin and end? Does it even recognize a beginning and ending? Is it a loop, or does it double back on itself at some point?"

"That's not math'matics. That's goddamned philosophy, which is a load of bull."

"_Think_ about it. A wave or stream, limitless because it never began and never ends. The more floodgates you close, the more stress the open floodgates have to endure… until you finally close one too many and they're swept away."

They all exchanged glances. "Are you suggesting," Yuna asked Auron, "that if we close too many portals, the Farplane _itself_ will blow through them?"

"For all we know, Yuna, this magic wind that's emanating from the portals _is_ the Farplane, albeit scraps of it." Auron gazed at her. "We could very well be disrupting the natural order of the world in our attempt to stop Sephiroth."

There was silence except for the wind and the sound of Tromell gathering power until Cid let out a low whistle. "Ain't you the doomsayer." He put out his cigarette and lit another one. "Who's to say that we can't just reopen these portals once Sephiroth's dead?"

"I never said we couldn't. I simply said that what we do here may have repercussions that we can never undo."

Coming from anyone else, Cloud would have laughed and called him a kook. Coming from Auron, whose measure was so deep that Cloud suspected he'd never fathom it, it sounded like a potent prophecy of dark things to come.

* * *

Cid settled himself into the pilot's seat of the _Fahrenheit_ with a happy sigh. "Been a long time since I operated the old bird myself. Giaeggo, how're the reserve batteries?"

The young Al Bhed looked up from the console to the lower left of the pilot's seat. Cid had told him to speak so everyone could understand, in order "to make the redhead shut the hell up."

"They have… an… fryd ec dra word… _hundred_ charge."

"Good, good. And your speech's gettin' better. This is good practice, eh?" Cid chortled. Giaeggo gave him a sickly smile and didn't reply. "Looks like we're good to go! Everybody ready?"

"Lulu still isn't aboard," Paine said. "I think we should give her five more minutes."

"If the woman can't be bothered to get up on time, I'm all for leaving her behind," the Al Bhed leader barked. "Rin, Nhadala, and that Isaaru all managed to haul ass _off_ my ship when I told them to, so why can't she haul ass _onto_ it?"

"Five minutes," Vincent abruptly spoke. "No more. Are we agreed?"

Even to Cid, the tone of Vincent's voice brooked no argument, so the old Al Bhed nodded slowly. "Alright. Five minutes, and then… well, I'll be damned."

In the forward view, they could all see Lulu running toward the airship.

"Perfect timing!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Get her aboard and let's go, Gramps!" The ship hummed as the passenger ramp extended from its underbelly, and Lulu disappeared from the viewscreen as she ran onto it and it closed behind her.

A minute later she burst onto the bridge. "Sorry I'm late. I suppose Sephiroth's assault left me more tired than I felt."

"Well, I'm glad you made it," Cid laughed, "because we're about to have us one helluva party. Hold onto something!"

"What do you mean? How are you going to get past those Yevon destroyers in the bay?"

By way of reply, Cid gleefully shouted, "FIRE AWAY!" and hit a large red button on his console. The _Fahrenheit_'s main gun, two long spokes of specially attuned metal, snapped out and extended underwater. Its electric voice spoke throatily a moment before a massive hole was blown in the dock where the airship had been moored. Many tons of water rose into the air as steam.

None of that particularly mattered, because the _Fahrenheit_ was sent shooting backward through the water. Cid gave a roar of delight as he started the engine and jammed a rudder pedal, whirling the airship about in the water to face the ships that had been blockading them a moment ago. Everyone except him and Giaeggo was thrown off their feet to a rough landing on the starboard side of the bridge.

"Amtan Cid! E ryja seccema dynkadehk solutions huf!" Giaeggo shouted excitedly from his console, temporarily forgetting Cid's order to speak so everyone could understand.

"Vena!" Cid shouted back.

The oscillo-finder display in the middle of the bridge lit up with targets, just as Giaeggo had said, and the missile bays along the _Fahrenheit_'s sides roared, spewing forth deadly explosives. They blew five of the eight Yevon warships right out of the water.

Finally getting their act together, the remaining destroyers fired their heavy cannons, but the _Fahrenheit_ was already taking off, skidding along the water, so the shells went wide. Half a moment later the airship was airborne again, the missile bays had reloaded themselves, and Cid was free to trigger a final barrage with a sense of great satisfaction.

"Take that, Yevonite bastards!" he crowed as the _Fahrenheit_ rocketed away. "The _Fahrenheit_ rides again!"

The sound of Red XIII padding up behind him caused the grin to slip from his face. He turned around to look at the beast.

Red XIII's lips were peeled slightly back from his fangs in his version of a grin. "I believe, Cid, that the time is currently nine after eleven. Our bet was that if we were unable to depart before eleven o'clock, I would be declared the victor."

"Yeah. I remember it that way, too."

"I hope you specified good, high stakes," Reno said loudly.

Cid fished into one of his many suit pockets. "I figured a genius like you had calculated the odds and everything, so I just went and got one before I went to bed last night." His hand returned holding a sphere, which he extended to Red XIII.

Lulu raised an eyebrow. "You wagered with Cid to win a _sphere_? You could have just asked one of us."

"But this was much more entertaining," Red XIII said, taking the sphere from Cid. "Is there anything on it?"

"Yeah, nothing particularly special. Just a recording of the first successful test-firing of this airship's main gun."

"Why do you need a sphere?" Paine asked. "You said it yourself – it may bear a resemblance to the materia you talked about, but that's not what it is."

"I didn't want a sphere because of its resemblance to materia," Red XIII said, tucking the sphere behind his hairpin and making sure it stayed put. "Haven't you ever heard of getting a souvenir?"

* * *

The party left Zanarkand and headed back to the _Shera_, which was floating in one of the few clearings in the debris field of the city. Cloud was bone weary, and the sun shining down on his back did little to ease his discomfort.

"First thing we do when we get back to the _Shera_ is sleep," Cid announced loudly. "I dunno whose idea it was to come straight here and not get any rest, but…"

"It was _your_ idea," Tidus interrupted him. "You said you didn't want to just sit around wondering about 'this Zanarkand place,' so you demanded we come here right away."

Yuna covered a yawn with the back of her hand. "That we did. I want to get to Luca now, though. I have to know if Lulu, Wakka, and Vidina are all right, to say nothing of those that went with Uncle Cid on the _Fahrenheit_."

"All right, all right. So it's old Cid's fault. Yeah."

Barret gave a bass rumble of a chuckle. "Yer good at pointin' out the obvious, eh, Highwind?"

Falling toward the back of the group, too drained to offer up a laugh, Cloud felt himself stumble. He felt Tifa grab him before he could end up face-first in the dirt, and he smiled wanly at her over his shoulder. "Still no time yet, eh?"

"We'll make the time. Our first fight with Sephiroth went on a lot longer than this, and we still managed, right?"

"Right. Of course, everyone saw us…"

Tifa turned a lovely shade of pink. "_That_, I've tried very hard to forget."

Cloud dropped back another pace to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Normally Tifa was so vital and energetic she seemed somehow bigger than she really was, but when he held her like this, the fragility of her body astounded him. How someone as delicate as Tifa could hit so hard, he'd never know.

"How far is Luca from here?" he asked, addressing nobody in particular.

"A good ways," Auron replied. "We'll probably arrive tomorrow morning, if the _Shera_ is as fast as I think it is."

"How fast that is, I got no idea," Cid growled, "but we ain't moving 'til I get some sleep. Then we check on our buddy in the Calm Lands to see if he's still contained, and then we head to this Luca place. Any problems with that?"

Predictably enough, there were none.

An irresistible grin spread over Cloud's face as he thought of a good eighteen solid hours ahead where they weren't particularly expected to be doing anything. Two days ago he'd have called it a monumental waste and insisted that they keep going, but now…

His thoughts turned to the dark-haired beauty leaning almost imperceptibly against his side, and his grin widened. "Just like you said, Tifa. We'll make the time."

* * *

Cid vaulted out of the _Fahrenheit_'s pilot chair and let Giaeggo sit down. "So, what's our ETA to Besaid?" he asked.

After a moment of choosing his words, Giaeggo replied, "One hour, thirty-sezen minute."

"I actually understood that, kid – you're learning. Bravo."

"Y dnia prodigy," Red XIII said with the slightest flash of fang to indicate a smile.

Reno stretched and yawned noisily. "Well, if we're just going to be lazing around for an hour, I'm going back to sleep. Wake me if Yuffie doesn't." He turned around and walked off the bridge, leaving the ninja-girl to be the target of questioning stares from the gathered party – with the exception of Red XIII, who regarded his reflection in a console monitor, his sphere flashing in the light, and smiled to himself.

After Yuffie hastily dismissed all possible allegations of what Reno had said, Lulu gave a small shrug and walked up to Cid. "I'd like to clear my head, if I could. If Wakka and Vidina are still on Besaid and Sephiroth is holding them there, I'll need to be at my best. Is my room still available?"

"I dunno," the old Al Bhed replied. Turning his attention back to Yuffie, he asked, "You sleeping with the redhead, kiddo?"

"Am _not_!"

"Yeah, sure." He returned his gaze to Lulu. "Just to be safe, you can have the room that Nhadala was boarding in. Probably less chance of walking in on something traumatizing."

Yuffie's face turned a bright, angry red. "I'll _kill_ you, Gramps!" she screeched, reaching for her boomerang-shuriken.

"In yer dreams, kiddo. I'm going to go do a diagnostic on the engines." On his way over to the console, Cid looked over his shoulder at her and added, "You be careful. I don't even want to think about the kind of disposition your kids would be stuck with if he was the father."

Lulu smirked and breezed by Yuffie, who looked about ready to spout steam from her ears.


	17. Chapter XVII

Red XIII knocked lightly on the door in front of which he stood. The action was no mean feat for someone who couldn't form a fist so much as a curled paw, but he'd learned.

"Who is it?" Lulu's voice wafted out.

"Red XIII. Might I come in?"

"Certainly."

He opened the door to see Lulu sitting in the middle of the room, having shoved everything into a corner to give herself floor space. The black mage blinked at him slowly, as if she'd just woken up. "What do you need?"

"I simply noticed that you still smell slightly of JENOVA cells. Are you sure you expunged them entirely from your body?"

Lulu nodded. "Yes. They leave some sort of debilitating excretion that I'm apparently getting out through my pores. Nobody but you could smell it; it's barely detectable even to me."

"That makes sense. I'm simply confirming that he couldn't have any hold over you." Looking more closely, Red XIII noted that a great weariness seemed to rest on her, and he could certainly empathize; she had to have been through hell in the past day or so. "Get some more rest. Nobody can blame you for being tired after your experiences." Lulu gave him a grateful, if small, smile, and he withdrew from the room.

_Perhaps I'm just being too jumpy. We've all been in contact of some sort with JENOVA cells; a whiff of the scent here and there is to be expected_.

* * *

Lulu sat, fuming, in a small cell on the People's Republic airship to which she'd been taken. The first thing the monks had done after accepting her unwilling surrender was to make way for another monk, who had looked to be in charge and privy to the direct orders of his superiors. He'd put a collar around her throat that had immediately afflicted her with magical silence, meaning that she'd have been unable to do anything even if Wakka and Vidina hadn't been in danger.

The next thing he'd done was dispatch two monks to her bedroom to fetch her clothes, which had made no sense to her. After that, he'd removed all the articles from her hair, and unbraided it, despite her numerous attempts to bite his fingers off, so it had cascaded freely down to her waist.

Then he'd cut it.

He was a monk, so he hadn't given her a haircut so much as he'd lopped off everything beneath shoulder-length, but it had been infuriating. It had taken her years to grow her hair that long and get it precisely as she wanted it, and now she'd have to start all over again. When she'd demanded why he'd done it, he'd told her "orders."

They'd hustled her out of her house and thrown her into the back of an armored hover, which had taken off for their airship. The inside had apparently been empty, but after the doors were shut behind her, the entire ceiling had erupted into a black mist and recoalesced in the corner, taking Sephiroth's form.

"We meet again," he'd said humorlessly.

"What the hell do you want?" Lulu had raged. "Why did you have them take my clothes and _cut my hair_? Is this to humiliate me?"

"Not at all. I don't work in humiliation. This is to be sure that your red, furred companion doesn't detect an overwhelming scent of JENOVA cells when I appear."

He had picked up her clothes, her hair, and the various pins and other articles she'd used to maintain her hairstyle, then he'd collapsed again into a black fog that rearranged itself inside her clothing and took her hair onto the head it formed. A moment later, Lulu was staring at a perfect replica of herself.

"Anything I missed?" he'd asked.

Lulu, struck speechless for the first time in her life, had finally managed to spit, "You _monster_."

"I'll give your friends your regards," he'd said before opening the back of the hover compartment and jumping free.

Now she was in a cell, with no windows or openings for light to enter in, on her way to Bevelle where the mastermind kept his puppets. Her attempts to loosen the damn collar had been unsuccessful, as it was securely fastened in the back with what felt like a metal loop-and-chain with a lock.

Figuring that there was nothing to do at this point except meditate and be ready to act, Lulu was surprised when she felt a cold, slithering presence slip into her mind as soon as she entered the trance-state.

_Sephiroth. How are you doing this_?

_I gleaned many secrets from you in our brief contact, just as you discovered my purpose for attacking you. One of those secrets was your meditation trance. I ordered you placed in that cell so you would enter it, and so I could meditate myself and therefore contact you. _

_I have nothing to say to you._

_My goal was to see you eliminated, but then it occurred to me how you might be useful. You've described to your friends the technique of spell attunement, but not how truly dangerous it is. After I dove into your mind, I saw that you don't even realize its full potential._

_Are you sure you want to risk this_? Lulu asked, trying to upset him on some level. _Your little silence collar might not work on a metaphysical level like this._

_As though I would supply my pawns with anything less than the best equipment. No, your powers are safely chained, and will remain that way until I take true possession of you._

That evoked several dozen different images, all of which made Lulu's stomach do a somersault. She almost lost the trance-state and forced herself back to a level of relative calm. _What do you mean_?

_You are not being shipped to Bevelle to simply be a prisoner or a hostage. You will be my instrument, and you will make me truly invulnerable._

_I'll never cooperate. You know that_.

_I never expected you to, but you will have no choice in the matter. Your spell-attunement technique will be mine, to complement the ultimate body I am building for myself_.

_You can't use Spira's magic any more than Cloud and his friends can, and your JENOVA cells can only control the body, not the mind. How do you expect to be able to utilize the technique, then_?

_Believe me when I say that if we were to come into a direct battle of wills, I would crush you to fine sand. And, incidentally, that is how I intend to use it._

_That would require me to be in contact with your mind without any relays like that JENOVA simulacrum you're using. Unless you have the courage to face me yourself, I don't see that happening._

_Courage has nothing to do with it. I remain disembodied within the Farplane, using a JENOVA nucleus to give myself a mind with which to issue commands. I could create myself an actual body out of JENOVA cells, but what would be the point? It would be just another simulacrum, only my soul would be in it and therefore vulnerable to total banishment._

_Didn't Cloud and his friends kill you? How do you mean, _total_ banishment_?

_Time and again I have fallen because my body was not enough, because it was insufficient, but I managed to free my consciousness from it before the end. There is no guarantee that I will be able to keep doing so, however. I am always looking for new ways to expand my power, and it was thus that I found the portal to this world._

Lulu wondered briefly why Sephiroth was telling her all of this. Perhaps it was to lure her deeper into his confidence, or upset her judgment as part of a larger scheme. She decided to let him keep running his mouth in the hopes that he might divulge some useful information. _How did you get here? Through Guadosalam_?

_It was a portal in the Lifestream that I was drawn to. I immediately understood that this world was a precursor to my own, and if I conquered it and took it for my own, I would never experience my setbacks at Cloud's hands – he would never have been born. The first and most necessary step, I decided, was to build myself the ultimate body. You are one of four vital ingredients, Lulu_.

Now her stomach really _did_ do a somersault. _Are you sending me to Bevelle to be _eaten?

_Nothing so crude. As I construct my body, you will be absorbed into it, and once I have taken possession of it, I will crush your will and take control of your mind. Then the magic-attunement technique, and its incredible potential, will be mine._

_What _is_ its "incredible potential?" And you haven't explained what you mean by total banishment_.

_What else can one mean? If I am truly killed, forced to partake in the foolish cycle of reincarnation, brought back as a weak and pathetic inferior being, it would be the ultimate tragedy. It would be banishment from my birthright – godhood._

_And the technique?_

_I've said too much already. While the chances of your escaping are close to zero, there's really no need for you to know, and I can only derive so much pleasure from satisfying your curiosity before denying you the answers you seek becomes more attractive. If you can deduce the ultimate potential of the spell-attunement technique before I break you, it will prove you to be less inferior than the rest of your species, in which case I may leave a record of you in the history I create_.

And he was gone.

Lulu slammed a fist into the wall of her cell, her mouth twisted in a snarl. The bastard had her, and he was going to use her to make himself invulnerable?

_To hell with that. I'll find a way to get out of here, Sephiroth. You'll never use me_.

* * *

"I'll head into the village to see if Wakka and Vidina are there," Lulu said. "Red XIII should come too, to see if he can pick up their scent if we can't find them."

The _Fahrenheit_ had made berth at the rudimentary dock on the Besaid shore, and the party stood on the bridge, planning who would go ashore and see if Wakka and Vidina had actually come here, as Sephiroth claimed.

"What about the rest of us?" Vincent asked.

"You should stay here in case this is a diversion or a trap and he tries to capture or destroy the ship while we're out," Lulu replied. "We don't want him stranding us here when we need to be mobile."

Red XIII nodded. "That sounds like the best course of action. How long a walk is it from here? I've only seen half the island, as the _Celsius_ docked on the other side."

Across the bridge, Paine blinked in surprise. For a moment, her mind had become cloudy and dull. She shrugged the feeling off, putting it down to fatigue.

"Not far," Lulu replied. "An hour's walk if we hurry."

"Let us hurry, then. The situation could be quite grim."

"Agreed," Lulu said. "It's not like a little running's going to kill us."

* * *

Cloud dragged himself into his quarters, barely able to stand up straight. He pulled the First Tsurugi from his back and leaned it against the wall, instantly feeling that he was no longer in immediate danger of falling over.

He shucked his shirt and boots, which left him in his undershirt and pants, and collapsed onto the bed with a satisfied groan. _Not a wink of sleep in two days… at least. More? I can't tell_.

His eyes had just fluttered shut when he heard a knock on his door. _Tifa_. Cloud felt that he wasn't even in a condition where he could make small talk, much less… well. Just in case it wasn't Tifa, he called, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Tifa's voice came through. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Tifa opened the door just enough for her to step sidelong into the room. She was dressed in the nightgown that she'd stowed aboard the _Shera_ before they departed, a silk garment with a beautiful pattern of soft yellow flowers blooming against a sky-blue backdrop. "Everyone's going to bed, Cloud, so I thought I'd come see how you're doing."

With an effort, Cloud raised a hand and made a dismissive gesture. "Just tired. I appreciate your concern, though."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should come back later when you're more talkative."

_Uh-oh_. She sounded genuinely displeased. Cloud felt the gears in his head reluctantly start turning again, and whatever vestiges of sleep had begun to take hold were shattered. "No, that's all right. I'm not quite ready to go to sleep yet."

"You look like you are."

He laboriously pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed and favored Tifa with a smile, though the action made his head spin. She strolled to the side of the bed and sat next to him, covering a yawn and resting her head on his shoulder. "So, Cloud. Do you remember what we were talking about before we were interrupted?"

The gears in his head went into triple overdrive, and he dredged through the events of the past two days to find those precious few minutes they'd had together.

"We were talking," Cloud finally said, slowly, "about how selfish I've been for the past two years. How I was completely oblivious to any feelings you might have had for me, and how I hoped that it wasn't too late for you to give me a second chance." He paused, then added, "Although, technically speaking, this would be the third or fourth chance."

Tifa laughed quietly. "It doesn't matter to me what number this is. What matters to me is that you've come to this point, Cloud, where you've actually _asked_ me for a chance instead of silently accepting one when I give it to you. Despite any misgivings you may have about my tastes, I happen to _like_ forceful men."

His heart did a little flip, and it seemed absurd to Cloud that Tifa couldn't hear it – he felt like he was in free-fall, heading for the ground miles below, falling at incredible speed, and it was hammering in his chest. "You think I'm _forceful_?"

"Well, to ask me for a second chance after acknowledging the way you've selfishly treated me for more than two years takes courage, and one thing sort of leads to another." She wrapped her arm around his back, resting her hand on his thigh. "Not that I hold it against you – if I did, I wouldn't be here right now."

His heart kept on pounding, and Cloud was convinced that the metaphorical ground was mere inches away.

"Tifa, I'm not courageous," he heard himself saying. "I'm not particularly bright, either, or I might have realized all of this sooner. I've kept myself tied down to a memory, regardless of whether it was a good one or not, because I felt guilty when I shouldn't have. And all this time, you've been waiting for me to snap out of it." Cloud shifted so he could look directly at Tifa, and she returned his gaze, her eyes wide with what could be anticipation, fear, or some strange combination of the two. "I love you, Tifa."

A smile slowly spread over Tifa's face, until Cloud felt his own mouth curving into one as well, and she replied, "I love you, too."

He kissed her, then. Forcefully. He could tell she hadn't been lying.

* * *

Across the world, Red XIII gazed delightedly at his surroundings. They were lush and wonderful, with a hard sort of natural beauty that he found reminiscent of his native Cosmo Canyon. Even at the accelerated pace he and Lulu were taking, his keen senses let him take in every detail. He and Lulu had come to a pair of bridges that brought the path past two thundering waterfalls.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Lulu asked.

"Quite so," Red XIII agreed. "My world is not gifted with many waterfalls. They are always a delight for me to look at." He shifted his attention to Lulu, in order to address something that had been bothering him more and more of late. "By the way, Lulu. The scent of JENOVA on you has been increasing; are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm just getting the last of the JENOVA excretion out of my system," Lulu assured him. "Give me a few hours and it'll be just fine."

Red XIII nodded as he moved across the first bridge, looking her over for any sign of the excretion she was speaking of, but saw none. _It must be too fine a layer for me to see. She'll get rid of it when she bathes next, I'm sure_.

Lulu looked over her shoulder and confirmed they were not visible from the airship, as a large bluff blocked the view. The waterfalls also flowed out to the ocean away from the airship, and by the time anything carried down them was clear of the bluff, it would be indistinguishable from the _Fahrenheit_. "You know, I've actually been meaning to speak to you about that scent."

The beast's ears perked up and he looked at her inquisitively. With a flick of her sleeve, Lulu bared her right hand up to the mid-forearm. Her gaze turned steely and she gave Red XIII a poisonous smile.

_I know that smile_.

Red XIII began to leap away, but Lulu had lashed out with her bared hand, grabbing him by the snout, then hoisted him into the air as he kicked and struggled. He tried to open his mouth, but the false Lulu's grip was like a steel vise.

"This is sooner than I'd hoped, but wearing her clothes and even going so far as taking half her hair for my own hasn't kept the scent from you – and now that I've been wearing them for a while, her scent is starting to fade." The false Lulu had now stopped even imitating the black mage's voice; the sounds that came from the simulacrum's throat were the deep tones of Sephiroth. "You pose an unfortunate danger to my infiltration of your pathetic band, Red XIII. Your friends will think you had to remain here in the village, having come down with a debilitating ailment, to be cared for by the locals. You will have insisted that we not wait for your recovery, and we will then proceed back to Luca, to meet with the _Shera_."

Sephiroth leaned in closer to Red XIII, and his smile increased to a malignant grin. "And I'm sure the possibility of using the island's CommSphere to contact the _Celsius_ has crossed your mind, so I'll be sure to disable it." He shifted his grip on Red XIII to free the beast's mouth and asked, "Do you have any final words?"

"It seems overly sentimental of you to allow me final words," Red XIII growled at him.

With a shrug, Sephiroth replied, "Fair enough."

He drew back and hurled Red XIII into the waterfalls. Red XIII twisted in midair, trying to land against the rock with his paws, but he was moving too fast. His head was dashed against a rock, and the last thing he remembered was plummeting down toward the foamy, cresting water below.


	18. Chapter XVIII

Twilight was descending upon Zanarkand. The _Shera _began pulling away from the ancient city on autopilot. Most of the crew was asleep.

Yuna was the exception. She shifted slightly as she absentmindedly stroked Tidus's hair. The young blitz star was curled up against her side, occasionally chuckling or muttering something incoherent. _He _had fallen asleep almost instantly. She was tired, but she was also filled with nervous energy and questions that had no easy answers, so sleep was elusive.

"You awake?" Tidus asked softly.

With only a small start, Yuna nodded. "You looked asleep to me. Did I wake you?"

"No. I just had a dream."

"About what?"

"About when I first arrived in Spira. Nothing special."

Yuna smiled and leaned forward, getting Tidus's ear between her teeth. She felt him stiffen and then say, almost hesitantly, "Tell me something, though."

"Yes?" she asked around his ear, running her tongue along it.

"What Auron said about us possibly screwing up the world keeps bugging me. I want to think he's just being Auron – never satisfied with anything – but a lot of what he said makes sense. What if we _are_ messing up the world? And if we take things further, who's to say that we aren't doing Sephiroth's work for him?"

Yuna sighed and stopped her ministrations. Clearly her husband was in a contemplative mood. "I don't know, Tidus. As long as I've known him, which is nowhere near as long as I'd have liked to, Auron has been a realist. If he says that we might be disrupting the natural order of the world, that's what he believes." She felt Tidus shift uncomfortably at the thought, so she pressed on. "But – if he doesn't say that we might be doing Sephiroth's work for him, then he doesn't believe that we are. Personally, I think that whatever we can do pales in comparison to what Sephiroth can do."

"You got a point, I guess. Come to think of it, wouldn't the Fayth technically be considered unnatural? I mean, Yevon created them, right?"

"If you're going to think that way, then you would be unnatural, too."

"Oh, yeah."

The bed shook a little as the deck vibrated, signaling that the _Shera_ had reached cruising speed. Tidus yawned and asked, "So, what do you think our next move should be?"

"Well, we need to check on the _Celsius _at the Moonflow before going to Luca."

Tidus nodded. "Then do you think we should head for Baaj Temple after we meet up with everybody in Luca?"

"Probably. Since the People's Republic is as good as our enemy now and they've always had a strong presence in Guadosalam, we should be cautious and bring everybody." Yuna paused, considering their options. "As for Bevelle, it doesn't make much sense to fight our way into the Palace, close the portal there, and then have to get back out. Better to just confront Sephiroth there and remove his hold on the government."

"Will the Guado even let us close their portal, you think?" Tidus asked.

"They've undoubtedly noticed the backflow from the Farplane by now. I'd say they'll be happy to close it, though we'll of course tell them it's only temporary."

"Will it be?"

"Does it matter?" Yuna said with a slight shrug. "We have to focus on Sephiroth first. What we do with the portals we've closed can come afterward."

Tidus looked almost dazzled at the thought of Yuna pulling the wool over somebody's eyes, but he regained his composure quickly enough. "Right, right."

Yuna gave a small tug on Tidus's shoulder to make him roll over so she could look into his eyes. "I want you to promise me something, though."

"What is it?"

"I know it sounds odd, but… promise me you won't go away again."

A look of confusion flashed across Tidus's features before he caught up with her line of thought and grinned. "Don't worry, Yuna. I'm not going anywhere." He took her into an embrace and she wrapped her arms around him in return, taking solace in his presence. "We made a promise to cherish one another," Tidus murmured in her ear, "and that's what I'll keep doing."

* * *

The first thing that Red XIII heard was a high-pitched voice asking, "Mommy, can I keep him?"

He came further awake, noting that he was on land and that his head hurt. Individual sensations came more sharply into focus and he felt a bandage wrapped around his head, as well as the rough weave of the rug he was lying on. His surroundings were warm and smelled of people, and his hearing picked up the breathing of three humans, seated around him. Red XIII briefly debated opening his eye, but then decided against it until he could tell what the intentions of the humans were.

"I don't think so, dear." The voice was that of an adult female human.

"Is it a fiend?"

"He's not like any fiend I've ever seen. He certainly can't be indigenous – and look at this beautiful headdress. His owner must love him very much, even though he does look like something out of the Kilikan jungle."

Deciding to risk it, Red XIII said, "I do not have an owner."

He heard startled gasps and the sound of the humans drawing back from him. "You can _talk_?" the youngest voice squealed.

Cracking open his eyelid, he saw that he was in a small house. Regarding him suspiciously were two children – a young girl and an older boy – and their mother. "Yes, I am capable of speech. Where am I?"

The mother quickly recovered her composure, which was no mean feat, and replied, "Besaid Island. Tinda found you while he was out fishing. You looked like you'd taken quite a blow to the head."

"It's a good thing the tide was coming in, because you'd have been swept out to sea otherwise," the boy spoke. "You washed up on the shore a ways from here, so I stuck you in my canoe and dragged you back here."

"Even though I might have been a fiend?"

"Lady Yuna's told me that if I see an opportunity to help someone, I should take it."

With no small amount of effort, Red XIII rolled off of his side and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I am glad you did. Tell me, have you seen an airship departing the island?"

"I saw a big one taking off just as I was returning with water for you," the mother told him. "Why?"

_Damn. Sephiroth has a JENOVA simulacrum onboard and they obviously believed its story. I have to get to Luca and warn them_.

"I need to catch that airship. Tell me, is there any way to go to Luca from here?"

Tinda volunteered, "An Al Bhed passenger ferry should be arriving in about half an hour. They're really fast, too. The old Chocobo-powered ferries took a day to go from Besaid to Luca, but these new ferries only take four hours!"

Red XIII glanced outside the family's home and saw that it was evening. _If all went as planned, the Shera will be in Luca tomorrow morning. That gives the JENOVA simulacrum an entire night to murder everyone aboard – or worse, continue to pose as Lulu and then strike when everyone is gathered._ "All right, Tinda. I need you to take me to this passenger ferry. If I don't get to Luca in time, everyone on that airship is going to die."

The young man's eyes, unsurprisingly, went as wide as saucers, and the reactions of his mother and sister were similar. "You're joking!"

"I never joke, nor do I ever lie."

"Well, come on, then! I'll lead you there!"

With a small shake of his head, Red XIII followed the excited young man out of the house. _Pity he hasn't any grasp of subtlety. I'm sure he'll learn, though_. He was still a bit wobbly on his feet, having been thrown into a waterfall, but he would make it.

_I have to make it_.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Cid looked up from his control console as Auron and Barret walked onto the bridge. "You two done sleepin' too?" he asked.

"For now, yes," Auron affirmed. "I want to see if our friend in the Calm Lands is still trapped."

"The youngsters still asleep, then?"

"I would assume so."

"Or doin' what young people in love do best," Barret rumbled. "You ever feel old, Highwind?"

"Don't ask me that. Someday I'll wake up an' find that all I want to do is snooze in a rockin' chair and have a cup of tea. 'Til then, I don't wanna think about gettin' old."

"Red XIII's older'n any of us. Little furry bastard doesn't know how lucky he is to be almos' fifty and not feel ancient."

Auron chuckled. "I've never had a problem with aging. It's merely something that happens to you."

"You got no problem with not bein' able to do the things you used to do every day?" Barret asked. "No problem with slowly rottin' away while you're still kickin'?"

"Those reasons are why I had no problem with dying."

Leaning back in his chair, Cid blew a succession of smoke rings, starting out large and ending small, sending each one shooting through its predecessor. It was a trick he'd taken years to figure out, but he couldn't remember when he hadn't been able to do it. "Funny. You spend yer whole life tryin' to do this or that, with nothin' but the best intentions, an' then you find that the only thing you've done is learnin' how to make smoke rings shoot through one another. That's what bein' old is."

"The realization that you've essentially wasted your entire life on a hopeless cause?" Auron asked with a small smile. "I suppose I can sympathize."

"You been there, done that?" Barret asked.

"At times, yes. However, all I had to remember was that this is _my_ _story_. I choose its course and how it will end. Whether it ends quietly in old age or gloriously in the prime of life, it's my decision." For a moment, Auron's good eye blazed with determination, then his face softened into a small smile. "You always have the option of ceasing to age, after all."

Barret laughed. "Yer a crazy fellow, Auron. I guess dyin'll do that do you."

"I was dead for ten years. It's nothing to be excited about."

Their conversation was interrupted when a sleepy-looking Rikku stumbled onto the bridge, wearing a gaudy set of Yuffie's striped pajamas. "Evening, I guess. Figured we'd be getting to the Calm Lands by now, so I got up. Whatch'all talking about?"

Auron, Barret, and Cid exchanged glances and Cid said, "Man talk."

"Oh, brother. Maybe I should leave."

"He's lying," Auron told her mildly. "We were just reminiscing about what it was like to be young."

"I remember that, too. I had a bedtime and couldn't go out with boys. It sucked."

Both Barret and Cid broke into simultaneous whooping laughs, and Auron chuckled quietly behind his glove. Rikku stared at the men, wondering what it was she'd said.

* * *

Cloud woke from a hazy dream and rubbed at his eyes. When his vision cleared, he found himself looking at Tifa, who was still in a deep sleep at his side. A feeling of contentment swept through him, permeating his whole being, down to his very bones.

The feeling exploded into horrible, horrible embarrassment when the door slammed open and Cid yelled at them, "WAKE THE HELL UP!"

In surprise, Cloud nearly fell out of bed, which would have been undesirable, to say the least. Tifa woke with a start and burrowed deeper under the blanket. "Cid, what are you _doing_?" she asked, her voice muffled but sounding embarrassed.

A quick glance out the viewport told Cloud that it was the middle of the night. "What _are_ you doing? It's the middle of the night and we won't be at Luca for a while."

"We're about two minutes out from the Calm Lands, and I thought you lovebirds would like to see if we did a good enough job sealin' the place off." Cid shifted his stance to a more accusing posture and added, "Unless you're too _busy_ to worry 'bout the fate of the world."

"Point taken," Cloud groaned. "Give us a minute."

With a satisfied grunt, Cid closed their door again, and Cloud quickly pulled on his clothes. "So, what're we going to do if Omega's gotten loose?" he asked.

Behind him, he could hear Tifa's _I-don't-know_ sound. "I don't think we've gotten that far yet, actually. If he's still there, good. If he's not, not good." She swirled the nightgown around herself, checked to make sure she was decent, and said, "I'll see you on the bridge." She exited hurriedly – heading to her room for her clothes, Cloud guessed, though he didn't bother getting into his own beyond his pants and undershirt. It _was_ the middle of the night, after all; if they were going to have to actually fight something, he could change quickly enough.

A minute later he stumbled onto the bridge to find everyone there except Tifa, who herself nearly ran into his back as she rushed through the door. Auron, Barret, and Cid unsurprisingly wore their normal clothing, while Tidus wore the blue robe Cloud had seen him in on Besaid and Yuna had on a nightgown of a matching color.

"Aren't we well-dressed for fightin' what amounts to a force of nature," Cid growled. "Mr. Wallace, yer professional opinion?"

Barret surveyed everyone, turned to Cid. "We're screwed."

"Calm down, now," Yuna half-said, half-yawned. "We don't know what the situation is. If we need to fight, we can all get into our clothes _then_. I'm not changing only to find that we're just going back to bed."

"Practical," Auron observed. "Cid, how long?"

"We'll be in visual range in three… two… one…"

The _Shera_ passed over a cliff, and the Calm Lands lay spread out before them. Immediately, they could see Omega. He was collapsed, evidently exhausted, in front of the barrier blocking off access to the Calm Lands via Macalania Woods. The rocks there had been battered and beaten at, with enormous holes blown in them, but Omega had made little actual progress. He was stuck.

Everyone relaxed at the same time and released breaths they didn't know they'd been holding. "Well, looks like we can go back to bed," Tidus yawned. "Wake me when we get to Luca." He turned and walked off the bridge, Yuna following him sleepily. Rikku waved slowly at the gathered party and also departed.

"To Luca, then," Cloud said. "If there's nothing else, I think Tifa and I are going back to bed."

"I'll go change again," Tifa told him, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"That's some talent for rapid changin' you got there," Cid said with a lopsided grin. In response, Tifa waggled her finger at him before taking Cloud by the hand and pulling him off of the bridge.

"D'you figure that Spiky knows how lucky he is?" the old pilot asked. "Everything about that girl screams 'untouchable' to me."

"By you, maybe," Barret chuckled. "I'll admit it – Cloud's a pain in the ass, but he's not all that bad."

Auron took a swig from his jug and gave an appreciatory grimace. "I'm going back to sleep, too. Having to rest to be at readiness isn't something I've had to do in ten years." As he walked out the door, he paused. "And if I've done one thing right, he _does_ appreciate his good fortune."

Cid raised an eyebrow and looked at Barret, but only got an equally clueless look in return.

* * *

As the _Shera_ disappeared from the Calm Lands, Omega rose from his feigned slumber. He shook and quivered for a moment.

A massive cloud of JENOVA cells exploded from his mouth. The cloud poured into the wall of rock in front of him and for a long minute nothing happened.

Then the makeshift barrier began to tremble, and suddenly rocks were flying everywhere and the barrier was collapsing, the JENOVA cells shifting through countless tiny crevices and shifting a rock here, a boulder there, until the entire thing collapsed in on itself and cleared the way. The JENOVA cells immediately returned to Omega before he could get any ideas about redeveloping free will.

Sephiroth permitted himself another mental smile. _Very soon, now_.

* * *

Trapped inside a cage hanging from the ceiling of the massive dungeon, Lulu felt Sephiroth's ripple of satisfaction move through her mind. She'd been brought to Bevelle some time earlier and then thrown in here, with no visitors as of yet. _So much for "investigating" my link to Vincent and Red XIII_.

Lulu couldn't sleep, the most obvious reason being that the cage was extremely uncomfortable. Beyond that, though, her mind was going double-time, furiously analyzing what Sephiroth could mean by the true potential of her magic-attunement technique.

So far, she had a total of zero ideas. It was maddening, and on top of that, her stomach was doing flips every time she thought of the JENOVA simulacrum onboard the _Fahrenheit_. Everyone onboard could well be dead by the time morning came. Her one consolation was that Wakka and Vidina had to be safe; the monks hadn't been told to do anything with them, so they were undoubtedly still in Luca, wondering what the People's Republic wanted with her.

Her impressions of Sephiroth's emotions no doubt stemmed from the awful aura that Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai were giving off. Nobody in Bevelle seemed to notice it, meaning that Lulu's firsthand experience with Sephiroth, or with his JENOVA cells, had let her pick up on it. If it didn't mean that she had to feel his smugness every waking moment, it would have been somewhat interesting to study.

Overall, Lulu decided, the situation was poor and she would much rather be somewhere else. Still, she'd resolved to find a way to turn Sephiroth's machinations against him, and now was her chance. _I think I _will_ study this aura that Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai are wrapped in. If it gives me access to Sephiroth's emotions, perhaps it can give me access to more – his thoughts, his next move._

It was worth a try.

* * *

Yuffie rolled over as someone shook her out of her slumber. _I was having a nice dream, too_. "Wussmatter?" she muttered. "Are we there yet?"

She blinked the gumminess out of her eyes to see Reno standing there, his hand on her shoulder. "Reno? What d'you need?"

Reno grinned at her, and the expression triggered something inside Yuffie's mind. Her concerns about why Reno was in her room at this hour evaporated, and all she knew was that she wanted him to stay and make himself as comfortable as he liked.

"You mind if I sit down, sugar?"


	19. Chapter XIX

We're back. I apologize for the terrible lapse in the update schedule, but we're back to one a week, Monday (right now it's Tuesday, but... yeah. We'll get back on track.) Good to return.

* * *

Vincent had already slept for an hour, and now he sat in a chair propped up against the corner of the room he shared with Paine. His expression vacant, he listened to her rhythmic breathing and followed the motion of her stomach with his eyes, lost in thought. It was raining heavily outside, and the _Fahrenheit_ hung over the ocean, a mile away from Luca in case the People's Republic hadn't left yet.

It had to be past midnight, and Vincent was expecting nothing more than the normal routine – sit and think until everyone else was awake. Technically, what he got _was_ the normal routine, just accelerated wildly by the sound of Yuffie's scream.

Paine's eyes snapped open and she saw Vincent already on his feet. Yuffie was in the room next to theirs, and the wall was relatively thin, so even without his enhanced hearing Vincent could make out what the ninja-girl was saying. What he heard would have made any other man's blood run cold.

"RENO! STOP! PLEASE!"

The last word was punctuated by a rattling sob and Vincent didn't wait for Paine to pull herself out of bed. He slammed open their door to see Yuffie's door similarly opened, still swinging back and forth, and that the door to Reno's and Rude's room was open just a tad.

He crossed the distance to the door and pulled Yuffie's door open. He saw her curled up on the bed, sobbing, but alone. She was safe for the moment, so he turned to Reno and Rude's door.

Their room had a bunk bed pushed up against the far wall, with Rude occupying the top bunk and Reno in the bottom. There was an air vent in the corner of the room, but it had been riveted shut and marked out of order. Rude was sitting bolt upright, looking around wildly, and the bastard redhead was faking a rude awakening. He'd sprawled himself on his bed so it looked as though he'd been sleeping there all night, and the expression on his face spoke so strongly of interrupted sleep that Vincent had to take a split second to marvel at his acting skills.

Then he moved into the room, grabbed Reno by the collar, pulled him up in one movement, and slammed him bodily against the wall.

"What did you _do_?" Vincent asked, deadly anger flashing in his red eyes. "Out with it, _now_."

"The hell are you talking about?" Reno growled. "What the hell's this?"

Vincent sliced his gauntlet through the air, talons extended, and stopped their razor points a centimeter below Reno's chin. "Talk, or I'll acquaint you with my gauntlet. And if that doesn't work, I can always take it off and let my arm have its tender way with you."

"What the HELL are you TALKING ABOUT?" the Turk repeated, only louder and with a panicked edge to his voice. "I just woke up!"

Lulu appeared in the doorway, looking ruffled but fully alert. "What's going on? I heard Yuffie screaming."

She stiffened and turned about as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Paine stood there, looking grim, with Yuffie partially hidden behind her. The grey-haired girl jerked her head meaningfully at the doorway, and Lulu nodded and gracefully took two steps back to clear it.

Paine strode in and pulled Yuffie in as well. The ninja-girl was wearing a set of Rikku's pajamas – bright yellow-and-white striped things – and they'd been, to say the least, mutilated. Yuffie had her arms crossed miserably over the tattered garment, and her eyes were wide, fearful, and liquid with tears.

"What the hell _happened _to you?" Reno blurted.

That did it, Vincent observed, as Yuffie screamed and lunged forward into a right cross that smashed the Turk across the face, still hugging herself with her left arm. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK HAPPENED?" she screamed, the tears now cascading down her face. "YOU JUST TRIED TO RAPE ME!"

Dead silence reigned, and Yuffie's words seemed to echo in everyone's ears. Reno's face was the perfect example of a man accused of something he knew he hadn't done. Vincent's eyes narrowed and his grip around the redhead's throat tightened. "Drop the act," he said to him. "And I'll leave your legs attached."

Now Reno's face was also the color of chalk. From his limited experience with Vincent, he knew that if the red-cloaked man threatened to tear his arms off, he was more than capable of doing it. Then it occurred to him in a kind of freakishly macabre way that Vincent had made no guarantee of leaving his _head_ attached.

"Listen!" he stammered, genuinely frightened for the first time since he'd been a child. "I have _no idea_ what you're talking about! I was sleeping here until I heard Yuffie scream!"

Yuffie socked him across the face again, a blow from which Vincent did nothing to defend him. "Do you honestly want me to pry it out of you?" the man asked, the tiniest amount of bored exasperation sounding in his voice. Slowly, Vincent rubbed two of his gauntlet's talons together; the sound dredged up some very grotesque imagery in Reno's mind, none of which involved him getting out more or less alive.

Vincent stopped when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Rude was standing behind him, sunglasses on even though the only illumination came from a small lamp. "Put him down. I'll take care of it."

"You think you can force a confession out of him better than I can? And, for that matter, you're not going to defend him?"

Rude cracked his neck. "I can be persuasive enough. Give me five minutes alone with him on deck and we'll see if it's true or not."

He locked gazes with Vincent as the red-eyed man gauged his sincerity, his iron grip nearly suffocating Reno the entire time. After a long period of tension, Vincent finally dropped Reno to the floor like a child discarding a doll. "He's yours. We'll figure out what to do with him after you determine his guilt or lack thereof."

With a nod, Rude hauled Reno up and shoved him out the door.

Vincent turned to address the rest of them and ran right into Yuffie's fist. He took the blow without complaint or seemingly much notice, but the fact of the matter was that he _had_ felt it, meaning she'd hit him rather hard.

"HOW CAN YOU ASK IF HE'S GUILTY OR NOT?" Yuffie screamed at him. "ARE YOU SAYING I'M CRAZY? I WAS RIGHT THERE!" She pounded at his chest, anger rolling off of her in waves. "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT THIS SHIRT! HE WAS ON TOP OF ME, HE TRIED TO TEAR IT RIGHT OFF OF ME!"

Lulu stepped haltingly forward, a pained look on her face, but Paine was the one who moved to restrain Yuffie and pull her into what passed for a hug. "We're not saying you're wrong," she told the sobbing ninja-girl. "We have no doubt in you at all. However, if Vincent's thinking the same thing I am…"

Her question was confirmed by a nod from Vincent. "Yes. Reno seemed too petrified to be acting. We may have a JENOVA simulacrum onboard."

"Posing as one of us?" Lulu asked. "It does make sense – Red XIII's ailment came on very suddenly and very peculiarly. Perhaps he was infected without realizing it."

The corners of Vincent's mouth turned down ever-so-slightly into a frown. "The question is, who could it be impersonating?" He looked at the three women in the room with him, then shook his head. "If I were Sephiroth, I would eliminate anyone who could find a JENOVA simulacrum. Red XIII can obviously smell them; why he didn't pick up on one immediately I have no idea. How could making Reno the target of our suspicions work for it?"

Lulu looked at Yuffie, and from the black mage's expression, it was obvious that an idea had dawned on her. "If I wanted to impersonate Yuffie, it would be easiest to replace her if she was alone. The process of attacking her, hiding her, and taking her place could be done in minutes, but I'd imagine that there's a risk of anyone involved with her walking in at the wrong time. And just how far _can_ these JENOVA cells mimic someone? Accurately enough to fool a lover?"

"Reno and I aren't lovers," Yuffie protested, her voice muffled as she buried her face in Paine's shoulder.

"Would Sephiroth know that?" Paine asked. "You two certainly are right for one another, and there's attraction there. For Sephiroth, I bet that raises a flag."

"Meaning he'd want to get rid of Reno in order to impersonate Yuffie," Vincent murmured. "What better way than to have us do it ourselves? It's just like him." His head jerked up and he clenched his right hand into a fist. "Can either of you tell me if Rude's been acting normal since our encounter with Sephiroth in Luca?"

"What do you mean, normal?" Lulu asked him. "He doesn't talk much and keeps to himself, mostly."

"Exactly. Who better to impersonate for an indefinite amount of time?" Vincent would have kicked himself for not seeing it before, but given the circumstances he gave himself a small reprieve. "And regardless of what's happened to the real Rude, we've probably just given Sephiroth five minutes alone with Reno on the deck of the _Fahrenheit_, over the ocean. What better place to stage a fatal accident?"

Paine hissed as the full impact of Vincent's logic hit her. "We have to get to him." She looked down at Yuffie. "Will you be all right?"

"I'll see to her," Lulu interjected soothingly. "You two go. I'll join you shortly."

Vincent and Paine gave her nods of approval and sprinted out, stopping only to grab their weapons from their room before barreling down the hallway toward the lift to the deck.

Swiping at her eyes and still shuddering, Yuffie managed to croak out, "Thank you, Lulu."

"It's no trouble," Lulu told her with a benevolent smile. She took the young ninja-girl by the shoulder and guided her out into the hallway. "Here, let's go into my room for a few minutes. Better not to go back to where the incident happened." Yuffie sniffed and nodded shakily, letting Lulu steer her along.

With a poisonously sweet smile, Lulu moved to her quarters, propelled Yuffie inside, and shut the door behind them.

* * *

Reno and Rude stepped out onto the deck, the hatch to the elevator closing behind them. "Listen, partner!" Reno immediately said, shouting to be heard over the rain that was pouring down. "I haven't done anything to Yuffie! I was in our room when she started screaming!"

"I know," Rude replied. "You couldn't have snuck out without me noticing you."

"Then why the hell'd you stand there and let them nearly kill me?"

"If I'd tried to intervene they would've tried to take me out as well. This was the best way to get you away from them for a bit." Rude adjusted his suit jacket, which he'd thrown on over his striped pajamas on instinct. "Give them a few minutes and they'll cool down and start thinking straight."

Instead of quipping that he hated it when Rude was right, Reno just nodded and walked to the fore of the deck, careful of the wet metal. "Thanks, partner," he finally called over his shoulder. "I think you've damn well saved my life again."

No response.

Perplexed, Reno turned around to ask if Rude was all right. What he saw was Rude running at him, full tilt, ready to barrel him over the edge into the ocean.

"The hell are you DOING?" Reno yelled, sidestepping. "What's gotten into you?"

Rude's only answer was to skid to a halt an inch from the edge of the deck, swing around, and move in again, this time with his fists raised. He threw a lightning-fast jab at Reno's throat and the redhead stumbled back out of its range. _That could have crushed my windpipe. What the hell is going on_?

His partner kept coming, firing off punches indiscriminately. Reno dodged and weaved out of the way of the first three, then ran right into a low one to the gut that doubled him over. Instead of straightening up, he kept falling forward, tucking himself into a roll that brought him behind Rude. Reno pulled out of the roll, grabbed onto the deck as best he could, and swung his legs around in a sweeping kick that was supposed to bring Rude down. His feet hit what felt like iron, and a moment later Rude had grabbed him by his ankle with his left hand and had hauled him up like a wriggling fish. The bald man drew back his right hand for a full-swing punch to the head that would probably knock Reno out if it connected.

Reno reacted instinctively. His riot prod was still in his room – he didn't care much to sleep with it – but his backup Derringer was in his sleeve. He sprung it out into his hand, released the safety, and shot Rude through the shoulder in one movement.

If he hadn't been hanging upside down, Reno's jaw would have dropped open when his partner's shoulder exploded into black goo. _Holy shit_. The JENOVA simulacrum apparently didn't notice the wound and began to swing.

At the same moment that Reno shot his false partner, the hatch to the elevator had begun to open at its normal, glacial rate. Vincent dropped to the deck, looking through the crack just in time to see part of Rude's shoulder explode into JENOVA cells. _So I was right_.

To Reno's eye, Rude's incoming fist also exploded into black goo, then a moment later the arm it had been attached to was blown off. Reno struggled to twist around and see who was shooting when Vincent, firing beneath the hatch, blew off the simulacrum's other arm, dropping the redhead to the deck in a heap. Rude laughed, dissolving completely into an amorphous black blob of JENOVA cells, and moved with surprising speed toward the edge of the deck. Vincent fired twice more, both rounds spattering JENOVA cells everywhere, but the simulacrum started to slither down the side of the airship and was lost to sight.

"Damn," Paine growled as she moved to help Reno. "Who knows how long Rude's been gone?"

Reno stared at the two of them. "You mean…"

"Sephiroth must have replaced him while we were all unconscious at Lulu's house," Vincent growled. "We can only hope he'll be there when we get back to Luca. Come on, it'll try to reenter the ship through an exhaust port or window."

* * *

Rude cursed to himself and adjusted his hold on the edge of the airship. He'd felt something sneaking up behind him and had turned around to see a humanoid shape of black liquid broadside him across the head with a club-shaped extremity, then toss him off the edge of the deck. He'd been too stunned to yell at Reno to watch out, but fortunately enough he'd recovered his wits in time to grab onto a protrusion of the airship.

The rain kept lashing at him, and Rude knew it would be futile to start yelling up at the deck that he was down here; nobody would be able to hear him through this storm. He struggled and finally pulled himself up to rest on the small ledge, making sure he still had a grip on the airship. An errant gust of wind could easily blow him off to his doom up here.

Looking forward along the port side of the airship, the first thing that the Turk noticed was the black shape moving down the side of the craft. It was dripping bits of itself off as it moved; Rude hazarded a guess that it must have been injured. Apparently too occupied to notice him, it moved to a window, extended a bit of itself through the seam, opened it from the inside, and then slipped back into the airship. It closed the window behind it but didn't resecure it.

Rude eyeballed the distance; it was about a forty-foot horizontal trek along sheer, sleek metal from where he was to the window.

He'd handled worse.

* * *

Vincent, Paine, and Reno rushed back into the passenger section of the _Fahrenheit_, hoping the simulacrum wasn't back. Lulu stood in the hall, waiting for them.

"What's the story?" she asked. "Was it Rude?"

"Yeah," Reno growled. "Bastard Sephiroth's going to pay for this. How's Yuffie?"

"She's all right, now – I put her to sleep for the time being."

"We need to alert Cid, Giaeggo, and any other crew members, but we also have to protect the bridge," Vincent said quickly. "Paine and I will get to Cid and everyone else. Reno, Lulu, you two head to the bridge to make sure the simulacrum doesn't send us into the ocean or something equally disastrous."

"Right," Lulu said. "Let's go."

Vincent and Paine disappeared down the corridor to the crew quarters, and Reno followed Lulu to the bridge. There was something peculiar about her tonight that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He put it down to stress – they were all very much on edge.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Lulu asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah." Reno nodded encouragingly at her and then lapsed into thinking. _How could the JENOVA simulacrum have tried to rape Yuffie to pin the crime on me in the timetable it had? She screamed and Vincent was slamming me against the wall about ten seconds later, which means he must have been in the hallway three seconds after the fact and in my room five seconds after that. In the state she was in, Yuffie wouldn't have been able to see how 'I' left the room._ "Wait, no."

Lulu came to a halt. "What is it?"

"I want to head back to Yuffie's quarters."

"Why?"

"It's important, trust me."

With a shrug, the black mage began running back toward the passenger quarters. Reno continued to think furiously. _Assuming that the fake me could leave the room in any way it wanted, it could bang open the door to make it look like I'd left for Vincent's sake. It could have opened my door a crack before going into Yuffie's room. That just leaves the question of what other exits there are in the room_.

They arrived, and Reno stepped inside. It looked the same as it had when he'd passed by in the hall outside, but the single bed was a mess, looking very much like there had been an awful struggle on top of it. Reno scanned the room, taking in every detail, and his eyes lit on the air vent in the corner.

_Air vent_.

It clicked.

_The simulacrum opened the door to my room just a bit, to make Vincent think I'd slipped out. Then it pretended to be me and attacked Yuffie. When she screamed, it banged open the door, then hit to the floor as a puddle or something and slid through the air vent. Then it popped out in the room of whoever it was pretending to be and…_

All the hairs on the back of Reno's neck stood up, and he forced himself to remain calm. "All right, it was nothing, just like I thought. Let me just go get my riot prod and we'll head to the bridge."

"All right."

Reno brushed past the simulacrum. As he did so, he saw out of the corner of his eye what had been bothering him since he set eyes on Lulu after returning to the passenger section.

Her right eye, which was normally hidden by her hair, was no longer there. Instead, there was only a black patch of skin, concealed well enough by the combination of her hair and the darkness. Reno glanced down and also noted that he could see patches of black on her forearms, protruding just slightly where her sleeves ended. _It's wounded, all right. Doesn't have enough JENOVA cells to put up a perfectly convincing act_.

He opened the door to his quarters and double-checked the air vent. _Yup. Sealed tighter than Rude's mouth in an embarrassing situation. It couldn't have been him, meaning it must've snuck up behind him when we were out on the deck. I hope he's not dead_. He grabbed his riot prod and strode back out into the hallway.

The simulacrum stood there, smiling at him. "Ready?" she asked.

Reno nodded. "Yup. Let's do this."

He walked up to the simulacrum, shoved his riot prod into its gut, and pressed the big red button.

* * *

Vincent was watching the door as Cid hastily pulled on a jumpsuit when he heard an earsplitting screech. Paine stuck her head out into the hallway from Giaeggo's quarters, exchanged a glance with Vincent, and the two of them headed in the direction of the sound.

They skidded around a corner and nearly tromped through a puddle of dead JENOVA cells. The door to Lulu's quarters was open, and they headed for it instantly.

Reno was inside, desperately shaking Yuffie. She was lying on Lulu's bed, her skin pale, and it didn't look like she was breathing.

"WAKE UP!" Reno yelled at her desperately. "COME ON, DAMMIT!"

Vincent and Paine just stared, unsure what was wrong. Reno looked up from Yuffie at them and said, "After I fried the simulacrum I came in here and she wasn't breathing! What the hell's wrong with her?"

With his usual impeccable timing, Rude shouldered past Vincent and knelt down next to Yuffie. First he checked her pulse, nodded, then positioned her head so he could look up her nostrils, and then opened her mouth and looked inside. He shuffled around to behind her, put his arms beneath her ribcage, and gave a short, sharp tug. She retched and coughed up what looked like a wad of hardened, dead JENOVA cells that had been caught in her throat. She coughed violently and then started to breathe again in gasps.

Reno slumped backward in relief and then accepted Yuffie's limp but living form from his partner, cradling her as gently as he could. "What was wrong with her?"

"It looks to me like the simulacrum got her in here, then knocked her out and force-fed her JENOVA cells, maybe in case Sephiroth wanted to get control of her later. When you fried the simulacrum, Reno, I guess Sephiroth had the cells in her move to her windpipe. She was choking to death on dead alien."

"So she'll be okay?"

"I think so, since her pulse is just fine."

Vincent gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "So, Reno. I assume Lulu was the simulacrum?"

"Yeah. I figured that the only way the simulacrum could have pulled off what it did was to move through the air vents. The one in our room's sealed off, though, and you two share a room, so the only one nearby with an open vent was Lulu's. I was sure I was right when I saw that the simulacrum was doing an incomplete job – it was just black in some places."

Yuffie coughed again and her eyes fluttered open. When she saw Reno's face, she smiled and managed to croak, "Hey."

"Hey. So, I figure that the simulacrum bragged about setting us up before it knocked you out?"

"Yeah."

"Will you be all right?"

Yuffie laid her head against Reno's shoulder and gave him a pained grin. "Yeah, I'll be fine."


	20. Chapter XX

Cloud gazed out the viewscreen of the _Shera_ at Luca, dazzlingly laid out below them. The city was impressive even by the standards of a man who'd seen Midgar, with graceful curving architecture and impressive stone construction, suspended partially out over the ocean. At its furthest point out into the deep blue protruded what looked like a large, spherical stadium.

"That's the blitz stadium," Tidus said to Cloud, noting the other man's gaze. "Nice place, really."

"You play blitz?"

"Yup. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes… sort of."

"It's a long story," Auron cut in before Cloud could ask. "I don't see the _Fahrenheit_ anywhere. Cid?"

"Hold on, I'm lookin'," the old pilot growled. "Radar's bein' finicky." They watched him work his console until he finally nodded, satisfied. "She's holdin' position about a mile away, over the ocean. Wonder what's eatin' 'em."

"Hopefully nothing," Tifa replied, a hint of mischief in her tone. "Shall we?"

* * *

"The oscillo-finder's picking up the _Shera_," Cid announced. "They're heading towards us."

Vincent studied the readout and nodded. "All right. We'll let them approach – if there's something wrong, it's better that we don't blunder into them."

"Aren't you jumpy this morning."

Their jubilation at killing the simulacrum onboard had been short-lived. It had dawned on them shortly afterward that Lulu was now officially missing, possibly dead, and that Red XIII was still unaccounted for. After making the rendezvous with the _Shera, _they planned to check Lulu's house for clues and then head back to Besaid to see what had become of the beast.

"Let's hope everything's all right," Yuffie spoke up from the rear of the bridge where she stood with Reno. "Always expecting the worst is just too depressing."

Cid frowned and adjusted the oscillo-finder. "Hang on, now. I'm picking up another incoming vessel."

"Aircraft?" Paine asked.

"Nope. Looks like a naval vessel. Let me zoom in…" His bemusement increased. "It's a passenger ferry."

"So? The world hasn't stopped spinning just because Sephiroth is threatening it," Reno observed.

"No, but it's making a beeline for us. I got contacts in lots of commercial Al Bhed businesses, but passenger ferries? Don't know anyone there."

Vincent stepped down to one of the lowered operating consoles and looked out the viewscreen. His eyes lit on the ferry instantly; it was coming toward them at a good clip, and it was rapidly blinking a signal light at them.

"Cid, look at this," he ordered. The Al Bhed leader chose to ignore his tone and strode over to look at the ferry. "It's signaling something at us, but I don't understand it. Is it code?"

"Nope. Just blinking the light on and off."

Yuffie jumped onto Vincent's shoulders and stared down at the ferry. "Whoa, there. Don't shift around so much."

"It was your idea to jump on my shoulders."

"Shut up, I'm counting."

"Counting?"

As she watched the blinking light, Yuffie's lips moved silently, counting out numbers. Finally she gave a little skip that Vincent stumbled under and exclaimed, "Thirteen! It blinked thirteen times before starting over again!"

"What do you want to bet that Red XIII's on that thing, partner?" Reno asked Rude, grinning in spite of himself.

"No bet. I lose whenever I gamble with you."

* * *

"The _Fahrenheit_'s descending," Cid reported. "Looks like it's moving towards that little boat underneath it."

Cloud frowned. "What could they want with a boat, or vice versa?"

"How about we go ask 'em?"

The _Shera_ shot forward before anyone could voice their objections, heading straight at the little boat. Cid gave a long _whoop_ of glee before he saw that the _Fahrenheit_'s missile bays had all snapped open. He cursed and swung the _Shera_ off her angle of attack to cruise around the other airship in a circular orbit. "_Damn_, they're jumpy."

After a tense minute or so, the _Fahrenheit_ came to a hover only a small ways above the boat and extended its ramp.

"We'll meet them there," Cloud said aloud.

Cid looked at him. "You sure?"

"If they're being cautious enough to warn us off of the direct approach you were taking, they're cautious enough to not want to bring us over to their ship or come over to ours."

With a scowl, Cid gave an affirmative grunt and took an especially long drag on his cigarette. _The hell happened over there_?

* * *

Red XIII watched the _Fahrenheit_ slowly descend toward the ferry he'd commandeered. The Al Bhed mariners hadn't been particularly thrilled when a red-furred animal had jumped onboard and started to bark at them in their own language, but once he'd made clear the urgency of his mission, not to mention that they would possibly be saving the life of their leader, they'd agreed to take him to Luca with all speed.

The captain of the vessel, who looked like every other Al Bhed that Red XIII had ever seen, yelled at him, "Drao yna kuehk du tulg fedr ic! Cruimt E taho dras?"

"Hu," Red XIII responded. "E ryja paah aqbaldehk dras. Mad dra udran airship tulg yc famm."

"Yknaat."

The _Fahrenheit_ disgorged its passengers. Cid stepped out too, despite his clear discomfort at the thought of leaving the _Fahrenheit_ in favor of a boat. He liked deserts and airships; sea travel was for younger folk.

"Good to see all of you again," Red XIII called, moving toward them.

Yuffie charged at him and grabbed him in a hug, nearly bowling him over. "You're okay! We thought Sephiroth had killed you!"

"He certainly tried," was the beast's muffled reply. "Yuffie, you're crushing my snout."

Embarrassed, the ninja-girl released him and Vincent looked him up and down. "You don't look like a JENOVA simulacrum."

"You dealt with it?"

"Fortunately, yes. It told us that you'd come down with an ailment and had stayed in Besaid with Wakka and Vidina. What part of that was true?"

"None of it. Whether Wakka and Vidina had arrived in Besaid by the time we were there I can't say, because when we came to a pair of waterfalls the simulacrum grabbed me and tossed me over them."

"And you're still alive?" Reno asked incredulously. "I didn't know you could breathe underwater."

"I was lucky, that's all."

Their conversation was drowned out as the _Shera_ came into position. Its pilot carefully brought it alongside the ferry, parallel to its lines.

Impressively enough, the _Shera_ didn't extend a ramp, but instead opened its viewscreen. The curving glass opened downward like a hatch until it was level with the ferry's deck. Cloud descended first, followed by the rest of the party.

"Good to see all of you," Auron said before anyone else could speak. "What's happened?"

* * *

Warrior Monk Seventh Class Baran had been having a bad day for well over two years now.

Back when Sin was still around, he'd been Second Class, almost First. He'd been present to guard Lady Yuna's wedding to Lord Seymour. When her guardians had attacked, Baran had been the only survivor. Lady Yuna had been married, though she and all her guardians had then gotten away.

So he'd been demoted to Third Class.

Then he'd been placed on the Highbridge in case Lady Yuna and her aforementioned escort had managed to escape the Via Purifico. He'd engaged them, intent on redeeming himself and canceling his demotion, and the Ronso had backhanded him across the face and sent him into the water. When he'd come to, he could see what looked like Lord Seymour screaming and dissolving into pyreflies. The escapees had then headed back toward him, and he'd played dead to save himself.

So he'd been demoted to Fourth Class.

When Yevon had begun running short of personnel in its final days, he'd been sure that they'd make him Captain of the Guard. Instead, they'd made a former acolyte, some wench named Shelinda, the Captain, and she'd assigned him to be part of Maester Mika's escort. Lady Yuna had her guardians had shown up _again_, fortunately not recognizing him and therefore paying him no attention. However, by the time they'd left, Maester Mika had disappeared. Fault had been placed on the monk escort attached to the Maester, and Baran had been given no chance to defend himself.

So he'd been demoted to Fifth Class.

After Yevon went down the tubes, Baran had joined New Yevon and requested assignment outside of Bevelle. He'd been sent to Kilika, to guard the temple there. He'd been in charge of making sure nobody unauthorized entered the temple, and he'd devised a cunning password system with permutations based on the number of guards at any given checkpoint. Then Lady Yuna had shown up again, this time with sphere hunter friends. She'd bypassed his password system, gotten into the temple, and stolen the sphere that had been taken there for safekeeping.

So he'd been demoted to Sixth Class.

Desperate to somehow redeem himself, Baran had been transferred back to Bevelle. Praetor Baralai, taking note of his disastrous record, had humored him and put him on escort duty. Things had been looking up for Baran – part of the Praetor's escort, no screw-ups yet – when one night Lady Yuna and her sphere hunter friends had shown up again and all hell had broken loose. The Praetor was missing the next day.

So he'd been demoted to Seventh Class, and put on prison patrol duty. And he'd been there ever since.

Baran gave a long, melancholy sigh as he strolled down the long walkway that extended across the massive chamber where the prisoner cages hung. He'd been doing this for a while now, with no promotion in sight. He had no other expertise in any field, so soldiering was the only thing he could do.

Right then and there, overwhelmed by a sudden bolt of inspiration, Baran realized what he _could_ do. _If one more thing goes wrong – _one _more thing – I'll resign and go work as a security guard in Luca. They're hiring, and I have plenty of military experience. I should just resign right now. I will! No, no. Gotta wait until something _else_ goes wrong._

"Excuse me?"

The voice started Baran out of his reverie. He looked around, confused. "Who's there?"

"Over here."

Baran turned in the direction of the voice and was confronted with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was in a nearby prisoner cage, dressed in what looked like a bedrobe. Her hair was a mess and she looked tired, but that paled in comparison with what was _good_ about her. Her figure was incredible, her lips full, and one ruby eye beckoned to him, the other tastefully hidden behind a lock of raven hair.

There was no way he could have recognized Lulu as one of Lady Yuna's guardians in the state she was in, which was just as well.

"Wh…what can I get you?" Baran stammered. "Do you need water? Food?"

The woman shook her head and gave him an intensely seductive smile. "What I need right now is _company_. You know?"

His throat dry, Baran nodded. He knew. Oh, yes, he knew very well. He didn't stop to question his luck, thinking that doing so might jinx him horribly, and instead moved to the woman's cage, summoning up his best grin.

The raven-haired seductress had moved up to the bars, pressing her body up against them. The bars framed her face beautifully, and he came to a halt inches away from them, staring into her beautiful ruby eye.

"Yes, a little closer," she whispered to him. Her voice sent a thrill up his spine, and he drew a step closer. She reached her hands through the bars to caress his face.

Abruptly, she grabbed hold of his head and slammed him face-first into the bars, then grabbed his rifle and thrust its butt up against his chin, hard.

_Luca, here I come_, Baran thought before lapsing into unconsciousness.

* * *

"So that's why you were so damn jumpy when we came in," Cid growled. "Havin' a JENOVA simulacrum onboard goin' 'round tryin' to sex everyone up will do that to you."

Nobody knew quite how to reply to that particular interpretation of the night's events, so for several seconds everyone just took an acute interest in their fingernails, the deck, or a gull flying overhead.

Finally, Tidus cleared his throat and asserted, "Well, we still have three portals left: Baaj, Guadosalam, and Bevelle."

"Ugh," Rikku sighed. "Not exactly a place I'd like to visit again."

"You don't have to," Auron told her matter-of-factly. "Your presence isn't necessary to get Tromell there."

"Well thanks a _lot_."

Cloud spoke up. "Before we go to Baaj, shouldn't we check Lulu's house? Since the simulacrum snuck onto the _Fahrenheit_ disguised as her, Sephiroth must've separated her from us without our knowing. Her house might give us a clue."

Rikku's father straightened up, worked at a crick in his neck, and said, "So, I guess y'all won't be needing me any more." He turned back toward the ramp, shoulders sagging slightly. "I'll be on my way, then."

"Wait, Uncle Cid," Yuna protested. "You've done us a great service, but I need another favor from you."

It was like a magic switch had been flipped. Cid straightened up, turned back around, and gave a roaring laugh. "Well, why didn't you ask sooner? I thought I was just excess baggage there for a sec!"

Yuna colored slightly, but smiled all the same. Cloud fought his own smile; this world's Cid was very much like the one he knew. He would never _ask_ if there was anything else he could do, no matter how badly he wanted to; _you_ would have to ask _him_.

"I'm not sure how exciting this will be, but it's crucial," Yuna began.

"Go on."

"I don't know how Yevon originally created the portals to the Farplane for the Fayth. I don't know if it even _was _Yevon that created them, or if the Fayth formed them themselves. What I do know is that Sephiroth may be able to duplicate the process. I need you to take the _Fahrenheit_ and scan every bit of Spira, from Besaid to Zanarkand, for portals within the next day. If all you find are the ones we haven't closed yet, good. If, however, you find new ones, use your CommSphere system to alert us. We'll rip the one in Lulu's house out and install it on the _Shera_."

Cid thumped his chest and gave a grin so wide it looked painful. "You can count on me, kiddo. Good luck." He did a one-eighty, gave a casual wave to his former passengers, and swaggered back up the ramp of the _Fahrenheit_.

"It's like watchin' myself in a mirror," the other Cid muttered. "Except I have no hair."

* * *

Lulu shot the lock off her cage with her new rifle and shouldered out of the enclosure, brushing past the prone form of her would-be suitor. He looked oddly happy, as though she'd freed him from a great burden when she'd knocked him out.

_Pleasant dreams_.

She got her bearings; this was the same chamber in which they'd all been held before standing trial, after Yuna's wedding to Seymour. Lulu called up her memories of the time, specifically the path they'd taken to get to the court, which was now the entrance hall to the People's Republic senate chamber.

_This way_.

Charging down the corridor, Lulu came to a bend and glanced around the corner. She confirmed it was clear and kept going, cursing the collar around her neck every second of the way. She didn't dare try to shoot it off of herself; it would be extremely unpleasant if she missed.

Even as she ran, she kept a tab on Sephiroth's emotions. Her meditations and attempts to get farther into his mind through the aura his pawns gave off had been only partially successful. Lulu couldn't discern his thoughts, but she now had a clear grasp of his emotional state at all times. Most of the time he was feeling superior and full of himself, though there _had_ been a spike of annoyance and disappointment sometime during the night that was encouraging.

Then she felt a sickly-sweet, malevolent joy sweeping through him, and she knew unquestioningly that _he_ knew of her escape.

How he knew became clear enough, as she heard voices echoing down the corridor from behind her. Lulu gave up any pretense at caution and took off at full speed, running down the hallways with reckless abandon, hoping anyone she ran into would be too surprised to shoot her.

She turned a corner and ran into a brick wall.

A moment later, as Lulu's vision focused itself again, she saw that she'd actually run into Sephiroth, or at least a simulacrum with his appearance. The rifle she'd been gripping was in his hand and that poisonous smile was on his face.

The simulacrum strained and the rifle splintered and snapped in its grip. Lulu pushed herself to her feet and tried to run in the opposite direction, but three monks with drawn weapons blocked her way.

"How very sad," Sephiroth said with a grin. "It appears that your escape attempt has failed." He turned to the monks. "You, there. Give me your rifle."

The monk handed it over.

"What are you doing?" Lulu yelled at the men. "This man is an enemy of the state!"

"No, he's the new Captain of the Guard," the monk who'd handed Sephiroth the rifle replied. "Praetor Baralai, Meyvn Nooj, and Mechanist Gippal announced it a while ago."

Lulu nearly snapped, but retained control of herself. It was infuriating, watching these pawns follow every order they were given. Everyone in Bevelle had to be either insane or just too stupid to live.

"Yes, they do lack some of the more distinguishing qualities that you possess, Lulu," Sephiroth sneered. "Pathetic members of an already pathetic race is what they are. Let me drastically improve their standing in the order of things."

Without another word, he leveled the rifle at the monks and fired three times.

Lulu drew back against the wall, horrified. The bullets had taken the men squarely between their eyes, and they lay there in the corridor in pools of their own blood.

"Now they can serve as food to the monsters in the aquatic dungeon below your cell."

Sephiroth reached out a hand and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off of the ground in one movement. His other arm melted into three sinuous tentacles that wrapped themselves around the heads of the dead monks and dragged them after him as he strode back down the corridor. Lulu struggled in his iron grip, gasping for air. She kicked him in the stomach, hard, but he showed no reaction. _Damn simulacrums_.

They were back in the chamber with the cages, and for the first time Lulu saw that it was suspended out over the section of the Via Purifico that was full of water and marine fiends. With a contemptuous snort, Sephiroth threw the bodies over the edge of the walkway and into the dungeon far below. Lulu heard three distinct splashes, and a moment later there was the frenzied sound of meat-eating fish surging to the surface to claim the bodies before their fellows.

That done, Sephiroth moved to the nearest cage and bodily threw Lulu inside. She struck her head on the back of the enclosure and briefly saw stars, her vision swimming in and out. When she could see clearly again, Sephiroth was standing at the entrance to the cage, holding by the head the guard she'd pretended to seduce.

"I take it that this young man is the one you tricked in order to get yourself out of that cage."

Lulu said nothing.

With a snarl, Sephiroth hoisted the monk into the air and snapped his neck. "Now he's dead. And it's your fault."

Silence thundered in Lulu's ears, and she felt guilt course through her, even though she knew it was exactly what he wanted. The sound of the monk's body hitting the water seemed like the loudest thing in the world.

Sephiroth moved to kneel in front of her, taking her by the chin and gazing into her eyes. "Listen very closely to me. I know what you're attempting to do. I can feel you at the edge of my consciousness, like a mite buzzing around a lamp. If you so much as touch that lamp, you will burn, Lulu. I guarantee it. I would rather not see you wasted." He released her, stood up, and exited the cage, shutting it and locking it behind him.

"One more thing."

Lulu looked up at him, wondering what else he could inflict on her, and was met by a stare so venomous and evil that it dwarfed anything else she'd seen on his face before. "Make one more escape attempt," Sephiroth growled, "and I'll kill every man, woman, and child in this city. I've kept them and this preposterous Republic in existence to mask my activities here, but mark my words: they are expendable. If you set even one foot outside that cage until I come for you myself, you will have much more on your conscience than one disgraced monk."

And he was gone.

At an utter loss for words or a plan of action, Lulu buried her face in her hands and stolidly refused to weep.


	21. Chapter XXI

Cloud came to a halt outside Lulu's house. The first thing out of his mouth was not caution or affirmation of their purpose, but instead "What the hell happened to this door?"

Everyone stared closely at it, and they saw why Cloud was confused. The door hung ajar on one hinge, bootprints covering its surface. If an object could have looked forlorn, it certainly would have qualified.

"The pointed one is mine," Vincent said. "I can't say who the other ones belong to."

"Well, I'm glad we figured that out," Yuffie snickered. "Let's go inside." She stepped forward, flung open the door, and strode inside in one motion.

Immediately, a bucket of water fell from atop the doorframe and drenched her from head to toe. She stepped backward, spluttering, and nearly fell before Reno leapt forward and caught her.

"What the hell is this?" Yuffie managed after she'd spat out the water that had gotten into her mouth. "Oh, great, it's in my ears."

Cloud was watching the two of them and trying not to smile when he heard footsteps pounding down the staircase visible from the doorway. He grabbed the First Tsurugi and stepped in front of Reno and Yuffie as an orange-haired man bounded down the staircase, wielding a ball covered in wickedly curved blades. "One more step into my house and you get this between your eyes, eh?"

"It's okay!" Tidus shouted from behind Cloud. "That's Wakka!"

Quickly, Cloud called up his memory of the message Lulu had showed them and remembered that this man was indeed her husband. _Never would have guessed it_. "It's all right. We're not here to cause trouble."

Wakka looked like he might be ready to argue the point, but then his eyes settled on Auron. His jaw dropped, as did the blitzball he was holding. "Sir Auron?"

Auron gave him a humorless smile. "Can we come in now?"

* * *

They'd all brought Wakka up to speed, then listened to his story. When Wakka had finished speaking, everyone remained silent to contemplate their own thoughts. Auron was furiously calculating what purpose Sephiroth could possibly have for Lulu. _If he wanted a hostage, it would make sense to take Lulu, Wakka, and Vidina, three being better than one. Of course, we know hostages don't mean anything to him, because his taking Vidina hostage was a ruse to begin with. This man goes in circles… annoying_.

"One more thing," Yuffie finally spoke up. "What the hell was that bucket of water doing over your door?" The ninja-girl was still dripping wet and sullen to boot.

"I stuck it there to surprise anyone who tried to walk in without knocking," Wakka replied. "I figure, hey, might slow 'em down long enough for me to get the jump on 'em, ya?"

"You set that up yourself?" Tidus asked, awed. "Wakka, I didn't know you had it in you."

Wakka winced comically. "That's hurtful, bro." He gave Vidina, who was sitting next to him on the couch, a little pat on the head. "Be a little more supportive in front of Vidina, eh?"

"What will you do now?" Auron asked. "Your wife is in mortal danger, possibly already dead. However, you can't leave your son alone. Do you have any ideas?"

The orange-haired blitz player grinned. "I'll leave him with the Aurochs. I got a feeling that he likes Datto better than he likes _me_. Datto always was good with kids." Pushing himself off of the couch, Wakka squatted down in front of Vidina. "Okay, champ? Dad's going to be gone for a while. He'll bring Mom home when he comes back, alright?"

Vidina nodded, and Cloud got the feeling that the child actually understood what was being said, not simply nodding at the end of a question.

"He seems, fortunately enough, to have inherited his mother's intelligence," Red XIII observed.

* * *

They were still laughing about that on the way back to the _Shera_. Cid in particular was wiping tears from his eyes and slapping Wakka on the back, congratulating him for taking it like a good sport.

_I'm very glad Wakka can't kill things with his eyes_, Cloud thought.

"We'll be heading to Baaj now, yes?" Yuna asked.

"Yup," Rikku replied. "Unless you'd like to head to Guadosalam, then double back around to Baaj, then double back around _again_ to Bevelle."

"I'll pass."

"I hate going back there," Tidus muttered.

"Why?" Cid asked.

"Bad memories."

Rikku coughed nervously into her hand and gave Tidus a weak grin.

"Sounds like you two got a history," Cid told Tidus with a grin, indicating Rikku. "You two meet there?"

"Yeah. Her friends thought I was a fiend and beat me up. Not the best way to get to know somebody."

"So why'd you end up with Yuna?"

Tidus gave Cid a stare that said something along the lines of _what the hell are you suggesting?_ Then he calmly asked, "Curious?"

"Nah, you and the blonde just seem much more suited for one another."

At the front of the party, Cloud heard the sound of a fist missing its target. He didn't bother to turn around to see if it was Tidus or Rikku who'd tried to hit Cid; from the sound of it, both of them were trying their best.

"We seem lively today," Tifa observed quietly.

"Good to be back together, I guess" Cloud said. "Besides – everyone on the _Fahrenheit _went through hell last night. They're probably just happy to be alive."

Auron chuckled. "Aren't we all."

"So, what's Baaj Temple like?" Cloud asked the older man.

"It's an uninteresting, dreary place. The sole distinguishing feature is – was – the Fayth of Anima, one of the most formidable Aeons in the world. It was the youngest, as well, so this visit should prove enlightening."

"Youngest?" Tifa inquired.

"The mother of Seymour Guado, a recently departed foe –" and at this Auron's lip curled in distaste – "became a Fayth for him, in order that he might have power in this world, even as a child. However, though her motives were pure, the end result was that he became addicted to power and chose to pursue it by any means necessary. That was only fifteen or twenty years ago."

"Does that mean that the portal to the Farplane beneath the Fayth was created when the Fayth itself was?"

"That is precisely what I would like to know," Auron replied. "It seems to me that all the other Farplane portals, with the exception of the portal in Guadosalam, were created by Yevon in accordance with their plan for the Fayth and the Final Summoning. What, then, has the creation of Anima's Fayth done? Was it the catalyst for the slow, permanent destabilization of the equilibrium between this world and the Farplane, one that no Rite can cure? Or has that been going on for much longer than anyone has known?"

"Do you hope you'll find answers to those questions in Baaj?" Cloud asked.

"No, I hope to find them somewhere else." When Cloud looked at him, confused, Auron said, "That was a joke."

"Ah."

The guardian gave him a faint smile. "I think we may find some of them, but they're not the answers I hope for." Straightening up slightly, Auron adjusted his sunglasses and glanced at Cloud. "What I hope to find, before this is all over, is why I was brought back. A man does not return from the dead for no reason. Tidus has Yuna. You and Tifa have one another."

Cloud blinked. "We've never been dead." He paused, reconsidered that statement. "Well, not for very long."

Auron smiled again. "I have a certain sense for these things, Cloud. When you've been dead, or as close to it as the both of you have, you're altered forever, and I sense that alteration in you. After all, you can be very much alive and still be dead. It all depends on how literally you take the idea of a state of death."

"I've been very close." Unexpectedly, Cloud felt a shiver travel up his spine. The memories of his toxic exposure to the Lifestream and the almost-sundering of his mind came unbidden to him, and he instinctively turned his gaze to Tifa. "And if Tifa hadn't been there, I wouldn't have come back."

"You've seen what lies beyond the place where life ends and death begins. Tell me, Cloud. What did you see when you looked into that abyss?"

Cloud was suddenly very aware of the ground beneath his feet, the wind whistling through his hair, the sights and smells and noise of the city around him. It began to press in on him, nearly overwhelming, and for a moment he had to wonder if Auron was influencing him somehow. He closed his eyes and thought back, far back, to that time in the Lifestream when he'd been so close to just letting himself dissolve into its magnificence, to be washed from the world.

"Nothing."

It was as though the brief pressure on Cloud's senses had never existed. He locked gazes with Auron and repeated himself. "Nothing at all."

Auron merely nodded for him to continue.

"At that time, when I was so sure I was going to die, I looked out at that place – the place between life and death – and saw nothing there. And then Tifa came to me and helped me regain myself." Cloud dropped his gaze to his boots and added, "I've never really thought about it until now. Why ask me about it?"

"I was confirming a theory of mine. I would have asked Tidus what he saw there, but I doubt I would get a straight answer." A smile tugged at the corners of Auron's mouth. "He's a good man, perfect for Yuna… he just doesn't have much of a head on his shoulders when it comes down to it." He turned his attention to Tifa. "And what did you see there, and when?"

"All I could see," Tifa said, "was an endless, empty blackness. And then…" She trailed off, a look of realization dawning on her face. "And then Cloud came and rescued me."

Cloud abruptly came to the conclusion Auron expected and gave a small _ah_. He looked at the guardian. "You knew, somehow, that Tifa and I had saved one another from death. How?"

"Suffice it to say I've had years and years to practice this sort of thing." And with that, Auron was worlds away, and Cloud knew any further questions would fall on deaf ears.

* * *

Cid lounged in the pilot's chair of the _Fahrenheit_, just happy to be flying. It was a luxury he didn't often indulge in nowadays. He had Giaeggo fine-tuning the sphere oscillo-finder to detect the emissions of Farplane portals, using the one in Guadosalam as a control.

_Hopefully the Guado haven't done anything unnatural to their portal. We can't well fly over to Bevelle and take samplings of _theirs.

"Amtan Cid! Success!" Giaeggo said excitedly. He was working on his Spiran at Cid's insistence. The Al Bhed had to become closer with the rest of the world if they were to survive in it.

"You've gotten the oscillo-finder working?" Cid asked.

"Yes. I can scan all Spira, but we must – invesga – invers – look at each reading. To make sure of truth."

Cid stopped and thought. _If we scan all of Spira from here, we may end up on a wild goose chase to one end of the world when the thing that needs investigating is on the other side. Maybe we should just do fly-by scans like Yuna suggested_. It wouldn't _really_ save any time, but it would make things more organized, as far as Cid was concerned. _Dammit, no. That'd just be me trying to impose my idiosyncrasy on the world, and that could well cause Armageddon. Better to just do the scan_.

"Well, Giaeggo, do your scan. We'll see what the results are before running off with cannons blazing, eh?"

The young Al Bhed nodded and initiated a Spira-wide scan. The oscillo-finder hummed as it scoured the surface of the world for the energy given off by the Farplane portal below. Cid hit the autopilot and strolled over to the device.

It picked one up in Baaj, no surprise there, one right beneath them, a large one in Bevelle, no surprises…

Cid stared at the last reading. "Is this right?"

Giaeggo nodded.

Without another word, Cid turned and dropped back into the pilot's seat, setting the _Fahrenheit_ on a course for Zanarkand.

* * *

Lulu was woken from a fitful slumber by a sudden noise. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was or what was going on, and she considered going back to sleep.

Then the events of the last few days hit her, and she sat straight up, adrenaline coursing through her system.

The noise had been a monk kicking the entrance to her cage to wake her up. "You've got a visitor, prisoner. Try not to kill him."

Lulu ashamedly found herself unable to meet the monk's stare or spit a retort at him. Sephiroth had spread the rumor that the four dead monks, including the one she'd knocked out to get his rifle, had been killed by her during an escape attempt. _It's close enough to the truth. I as good as killed them_.

The fact that the thought even crossed her mind had been causing Lulu no end of anguish. Her escape attempt had only been eighteen hours ago, but it felt like much longer. She knew that this was exactly what Sephiroth wanted – for her to be overcome with doubt and self-reproach. What was worse, he'd known exactly how to inflict those emotions on her, as if her knew her very soul. She wouldn't have batted an eyelash about flash-frying those same monks if they'd gotten in her way and it was kill or be killed, but it had never come to that. She had already been caught, and she'd known it… and they'd still died.

_Dammit_.

Lulu looked up as the entrance to her cage opened, and she saw that her visitor was Sephiroth.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked. Even her voice, to her, sounded exhausted and defeated. There was no venom in her question, just apathy.

"I was getting bored," Sephiroth replied with a smug smile. "So I thought that you and I could have a little chat."

_Oh, spare me_. "I'm not in the mood to talk. Besides, you haven't won yet. Cloud and Yuna and everyone else are still out there."

"It's true," the man admitted, seating himself – his simulacrum – next to the entrance to the cage. "I did my very best to kill a good portion of them off with the resources I had at hand, but that unfortunately failed. I've never planned to kill Cloud before he could see my new body and realize the full extent of his failure, so I thought, why not simply take care of the rest of them _then_?"

"Because there's always the chance you could fail. You've failed in the past." Idly, Lulu wondered why Sephiroth was bothering to talk to her, and the answer came just as quickly. _The same reason that he bothered to communicate with me through that mental link while I was en route here. To brag_.

"I'm not here to brag to you," Sephiroth said. "I have no need to stroke my own ego."

"That's preposterous," Lulu said flatly. "You are undoubtedly the most self-centered, egotistic narcissist I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. On top of your less-than-perfect disposition, you're trying to kill me and everyone I've ever known or loved. Go toot your horn to someone else; I'm not interested."

That apparently struck something inside him, but not in the way Lulu had intended. Sephiroth threw back his head and started to laugh.

He went on for quite a while, too, until it began to be less frightening and confusing and more annoying, at which point he abruptly stopped and stared at her again. "I've been called many things in my life. 'Monster.' 'Freak.' 'Bastard.' I've never been called a self-centered, egotistic narcissist." The young, silver-haired man cocked his head slightly. "Answer me a question, if you will."

"Will you kill more people if I don't?"

"I'll kill more people regardless of whether you answer the question or not. However, whether it will be because you refused to obey me or for another, entirely unrelated matter depends on your response, and if you give one."

Lulu closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply. _Don't let him get to you_. "What's the question?"

"Tell me what it feels like to love."

_That_ surprised her. "Excuse me? Why would you want to know that?"

"My motives are not on trial here. Answer the question."

Lulu stared at him hard, probing at the very edge of his mind. Sephiroth was probably right when he told her she couldn't come in direct contact with him without damaging herself, but an impression was all she needed of him.

The impression she got was that he was burning. It was a cold fire burning from his very core and spreading outward, not painfully, but instead urgently.

He was burning with _curiosity_.

That fact surprised Lulu even more than the question he'd asked. Why would this man, consummate incarnation of evil, want to know what it felt like to love someone? Because he'd never loved anyone himself? Lulu's mind stepped back and recalled what Cloud had told her about Sephiroth. _He thought that JENOVA was his mother, betrayed by humans, and so he swore to take revenge on humans for her. Isn't that love_?

No; that was unconditional love, the love of a son for his mother. It was probably the only kind of love Sephiroth had ever experienced, and he wanted to know what passionate love was like. _He's intensely curious. He craves knowledge and power, just like Seymour, but on a scale that Seymour could never approach. He doesn't just want knowledge in order to achieve power; he wants knowledge for its own sake. Perhaps it's part of his dream to become a god._

"When you incorporate me into this new body of yours and crush my will, won't you have the answer to that?" Lulu asked.

"No, I won't. It has been my experience that emotion is not stored logically in the mind. Have you catalogued precisely what it feels like to love someone? No, but you know the feeling. I want you to describe that feeling to me."

For a long time, Lulu sat in thought, trying to find words. The entire time, her rational side screamed at her to deny this sick, twisted little boy his tidbit of knowledge and take whatever satisfaction she could from it, but she knew instinctively that she couldn't do that. _I will never sink to his level_. After deliberating extensively, Lulu arrived back at what she had originally wanted to say and decided it was best.

"To love someone, Sephiroth, is to _not care_. If you love someone, you no longer care about their failings, their imperfections, their flaws. That's something you can never do, because that's all you see in people – even yourself."

Sephiroth had nothing to say to that. He got up and exited the cage, closing it behind him as he did so. Lulu watched his retreating back, wondering if it was the answer he'd been expecting.


	22. Chapter XXII

"On three."

"One."

"Two."

"THREE!"

Cloud, Tidus, Auron, Barrett, and Rude all heaved and slowly pulled up the door to the Chamber of the Fayth in Baaj Temple. Blasts of magic wind were shooting through the small spaces that the door did not cover, and as it slowly rose the wind increased.

Cid, who was again "supervising," pulled out a new cigarette and struck a match to light it. The flame flared up a bright blue and there was a small bluish-green explosion, making Cid swear and jump back. His cigarette, however, had been lit, so he was mollified.

"Your – cigarette, yes? – is also burning blue," Yuna noted.

"Don't know what the hell's making it do that, but I'll be damned if it doesn't taste good."

The ex-summoner shook her head in wonder as the pilot took a long drag on the cigarette, then sighed contentedly, exhaling glowing emerald smoke.

With one final heave, the five men struggling with the door managed to wedge it into its open position. Tromell nodded to them and walked into the Chamber of the Fayth, with everyone else following him. They had to brace themselves against the onslaught of magic wind; whether it was an endless flow like Auron theorized or built-up pressure like Cid had postulated, it was getting to the staggering point by now.

Ahead of them pulsed the portal, the wind screaming from it at full blast. Auron looked at it and kicked a pebble over the edge, but the small bit of rock was blown up against the ceiling and finally landed in another corner of the room.

"It will take me at least half an hour to gather the magic to close this portal!" Tromell shouted, raising his voice to be heard over the howl of the wind. "The immense energy pouring from it will hamper my efforts significantly!"

"Understood!" Cloud shouted back. "We'll split up – keep guard outside and inside!" He gave the other AVALANCHE members hand signals, and then walked out of the Chamber. They split the party into two roughly even halves.

Yuna shouted, "If you need any help, Tromell, tell me!"

"Your sentiments are appreciated, Lady Yuna, but I will be fine! Simply ensure that I am not interrupted!"

Outside, it was at least possible to hear one another over the wind without shouting. "So, Auron," Cloud said. "What do you think?"

"Of this portal? It's possible that it may be the catalyst for a permanent destabilization of the Farplane, but I'm still unconvinced. History shows that the Rite has always stabilized the Farplane, but to a lesser degree each time, meaning that the amount of time between Rites decreased steadily over the years." Auron reached into his coat and pulled out a sphere.

"What does this sphere contain?" Red XIII asked.

"It's not of anything – it contains the history of Spira according to Yevon."

Wakka abruptly drew in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. "Auron, man, you have any idea how much that thing is _worth_? Any sphere hunter would kill to have it!"

"I took it from the Palace of St. Bevelle when I left with Braska to guard him on his pilgrimage. Yevon was _not_ happy to find it gone, I think, so it's just as well that I wasn't happy with Yevon at the time. It was one of only three in existence – I assume the other two are lost or destroyed by now."

"Ya. Yuna told me about how she, Paine and Rikku found the guy who founded New Yevon – what was his name? Trema, ya. He went and took all the spheres that Yevon had and that the Yevonite sphere hunters had brought him… and destroyed 'em." Motioning to the sphere Auron held, Wakka concluded, "That thing's probably the most valuable datasphere in all of Spira."

With a movement, Auron activated it. A literal wall of text appeared above the sphere, and Auron delicately shifted his grip to scroll through different subjects and time periods. "Look here," he instructed everyone. "Can you read this?"

Cloud squinted at the Spiran script. "Nope."

"It notes here that almost immediately after High Summoner Braska defeated Sin, the Guado were forced to use the Rite of Correction on the Farplane to curb destabilization. Now…" The old guardian shifted his forefinger on the sphere and it moved to another wall of text that looked much like the first. "Wakka, look at this, here."

Leaning forward, Wakka read, "'Seventeen days after Lady Yocun's defeat of Sin, the Guado were forced to use their Rite of Correction to restabilize the realm of the Farplane."

Auron scrolled to another area of the text. "It's the same with Lord Ohalland and Lord Gandof. The sphere doesn't extend back to the days when Yunalesca was still among the living, but I'm sure that her defeat of Sin had a similar effect."

"So what does this mean?" Tifa asked. "Sin is dead, right? Could its death have made an impact on the Farplane?"

"The fashion in which Sin was reborn is complicated. To make a long story short, a summoner would sacrifice one of their guardians to create a new Aeon, which would then become the new Sin after it destroyed the old."

"Might the corruption of an Aeon have adversely affected the Farplane?" Red XIII asked.

"That's what I'm not sure of. I can't pinpoint the root cause. It could be that, or it could have to do with Yu Yevon's power shifting away from summoning Zanarkand."

"If I'm followin' you correctly, this Yevon guy would need Fayth to summon something," Cid said. "Which ones did he use?"

"The entire surviving population of Zanarkand became Fayth after the war, and Yu Yevon used them to create Dream Zanarkand. Perhaps the fact that their collective power didn't have anywhere to go during the reconstruction period made it necessary to use the Rite."

"But I've been to Fayth Scar," Wakka protested. "Lu, Vidina and me went to the hot springs there – Kimahri gave us special permission last winter. There weren't any Farplane portals there, even though there used to be more Fayth than you can count."

"I can sure as hell count higher than you can, sonny," Cid barked, a grin on his face. More of the glowing emerald smoke seeped through his teeth as he gave a little laugh at his own joke. "That's a good point the kid makes, though. If there were Fayth, why isn't there a portal?"

Auron shrugged. "I don't pretend to understand it fully, myself. It's why I'm trying to learn more."

"If Sephiroth is able to exploit the fact that there used to be Fayth there, the _Fahrenheit_ will be able to pick it up," Red XIII noted. "It was a sensible precaution of Yuna's to ask that of Cid."

* * *

The _Fahrenheit_ assumed a stationary hover on the outskirts of Zanarkand – the debris field was too thick to allow a landing anywhere inside. Cid powered down the engines into station-keeping mode and hit the hatch egress button. "Ready for a little hike, Giaeggo?" he asked, keeping his tone cheerful.

"If you… er. If you _want_," the young man replied.

"You'll get the hang of it eventually, son. It's actually not that bad a language."

"Eventually."

The two of them tromped down the ramp and Cid hoisted a pack onto his shoulders. It had food and water in case they had to stay the night, as well as climbing materials and a few emergency grenades, and Giaeggo carried a portable shelter and some Al Bhed potions. The flight from Guadosalam to Zanarkand had taken most of the day, and the sun was beginning to set. Cid assumed that his counterpart was ferrying everyone to Guadosalam by this point.

"Dra naytehkc lysa vnus – oh. Very sorry, Elder. The… readings. The readings came from the dome."

Cid nodded approvingly and bellowed, "Forward MARCH!"

* * *

Tromell had closed the portal in Baaj after approximately half an hour, as he'd estimated, but the effort had taken a good deal out of him. Cid declared that it was senseless to stick around and that they would make for Guadosalam immediately, but they would hold off on closing the portal there until Tromell felt he was ready.

The _Shera's _rec center was packed full of people chatting, inspecting weapons, doing exercise competitions. Cloud and Tidus were doing one-arm pushups at a frighteningly fast pace as directed by Yuna, and neither man looked as though he was about to give up.

"You… scrub," Tidus panted. "You're… out of your… league. I used to… do these… every day… when I… blitzed!"

"I once outsquatted a man twice as big as me so I could get a wig," Cloud laughed. "You're the one who's out of his league."

"What… did you want… with… a wig?" Tidus was starting to sweat.

"Oh, it was this whole… _crazy_ thing."

The door to the lounge-gym was shouldered open by a satisfied-looking Cid, who was holding a large pot and wearing an unpleasantly stained apron. "I just whipped this up in the galley – Cid's Primo Stew Delight!"

Everybody looked at him, then went back to what they were doing.

"Oh come _on_," Cid growled, setting the pot down on the table in the center of the room. "I spent an hour cooking this!"

In between pushups, Cloud eyed the stuff and took a whiff, then nearly gagged. _It smells like he took a stew mix and then did something awful to it._ The bit of the stuff he could see over the lip of the pot looked none too appealing, either.

Tifa, who had loudly called the pushup competition a "stupid macho thing" and had relegated herself to a couch, leaned forward and looked at the stuff, then sniffed it. "It looks like you took a stew mix and then did something terrible to it. Smells like it, too." Cloud started to laugh, which made him completely fail his next pushup, and Tidus gave a long victory whoop before collapsing, completely exhausted.

Cid's face was a study in indignant protest. "Oh, sure, give me a bad time about my Primo Stew Delight!" He grabbed a spoon from one of the pockets in the apron, scooped up a bit of his creation, and popped it into his mouth. "It tastes great, see –"

The expression on his face changed to shock, then to disgust, then to what Cloud imagined he himself looked like seconds before he emptied the contents of his stomach.

"Oh _man_." Cid swallowed noisily. "Maybe I used a little too much spice. I'll grab a pizza or something out of the freezer." He hastily exited with his brainchild, which would have left a visible aroma trail behind it if its unique fragrance had been any more pungent.

"Pizza?" Yuna asked. "What's that?"

Red XIII's face betrayed his shock. "Even _I've_ had it. Are you telling me Spira has never known the joy of humankind's greatest culinary achievement?"

"Spira's a little short on culinary achievements, as we ourselves have been trying to avoid being eaten for much of history."

"Prepare to be amazed."

* * *

Vincent had quietly disappeared from the gathering when the pizza had been introduced. It was an easy way to avoid any awkward moments originating from the fact that he'd never liked pizza.

The room on the _Shera_ he usually laired in for the hour he'd sleep each night was, fortunately enough, empty. Despite its size, the airship was never meant to hold this many people. Finding a moment of peace to oneself was a rare blessing.

_They should be done with the stuff by now_.

Before Vincent could get up, the door opened and Paine walked in. "I missed you at dinner." She extended a plate with a piece of pizza on it. "Here, I saved you a piece."

Vincent would have laughed, but in truth he was more touched by her affection than the irony of the situation. He took the plate in his right hand and said, "Thank you. I've never cared for it, but I suppose I can tolerate it for your sake."

Paine gave him an odd look. "That stuff is _good_. I don't understand why you wouldn't like it."

With a shrug, Vincent picked up the pizza and bit into it, then tried not to make a face. Something about it had never suited him… but it was better than whatever Cid had been breeding in that pot.

Giving a little sigh, Paine sat down next to him, to his right, on the bed. "What will you do after all of this is over, Vincent?"

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked around the pizza in his mouth, trying not to sound too incoherent.

"Will you go back to your own world?"

"I have obligations there. I can't stay."

Paine laughed, but it sounded strained. "I guess it would be stupid to ask if you'll come back and visit."

"There's no guarantee that the portal between our worlds will still exist after this is over, I'm afraid. If it does, though, I'll be sure to come visit you." Vincent paused for a moment, wondering why he had the sensation of free-falling in his stomach. _Perhaps it's the pizza. Cid _did_ touch it, after all_.

He stiffened instinctively as the grey-haired girl wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm glad to hear you say that." Apparently Paine felt him stiffen, because she made to withdraw, which Vincent quickly blocked her from doing.

"It's all right," he told her as gently as he could. "I'm not used to human contact – or any contact, for that matter." The free-falling feeling persisting, he moved his right hand to her slender waist, wondering what the hell he was doing. He supposed he was doing the right thing, since she rested her head on his shoulder. "You're very special, Paine… but this comes first."

He felt her fractional nod the second before she asked, "And… your left arm?"

Vincent raised his gauntlet so they both could see it. "Yes. After this, I have to learn about this and come to terms with it." He returned the arm to his side. "Until then, I can never truly share myself with anyone, because there will always be some part of me that is completely alien, and that is unacceptable to me."

Instinctively feeling her eyes on him, Vincent turned his head to meet Paine's gaze. "However, if the time comes when I've done what I've set out to do and atoned for my sins – purified myself – I'll do whatever I can to see you again."

Paine smiled, a genuine expression of contentment, and shifted her hand to the back of Vincent's head, pulling him toward her for a brief kiss.

"Now it's a promise," she told him.

"Agreed. A promise."

* * *

Cid took a sip of water and eyed the hole leading down into the Chamber of the Zaon Fayth. Unless everyone who'd gone with the _Shera_ to close the portal down there had been hallucinating, roaring drunk, chronic liars, or some combination of the three, there should not be a reading in Zanarkand.

And yet there was not only one reading – there were _four_.

The elevator lay at the bottom of the shaft, smashed to pieces. Cid assumed that his colleagues had done that while getting to the Zaon Fayth. He gauged the drop, decided he was too old to take it incautiously, and said, "Giaeggo, let's start rigging up a little rope descent here. I'm getting too old for spelunking."

"Spelunking?"

"Cave exploration."

Without another word, Cid pulled off his pack and reached inside for some tools. He pulled out a metal stake and a hammer, then slammed the stake into the stone floor as hard as he could to make a crack and started hammering. When the stake was halfway in, he looped a length of rope around it and gave the rope as sharp a tug as he could manage. The stake didn't budge, so Cid gave a satisfied grunt and started climbing down.

Two minutes later they were both down in the Chamber, staring at the empty hole where the Zaon Fayth had been. Cid peered down and confirmed that it had a bottom. There was also none of the magic wind that Yuna had mentioned to him as she'd seen him off. In short, there was no portal. At all.

"Your readings are correct?" Cid asked again.

"Elder Cid, I have… _checked_ them thrice," Giaeggo protested. "They are correct."

Cid resisted the urge to chuckle. _Thrice. Who the hell taught him that one_?

"Just say triple-checked next time. I suppose we should move on and see where else these portals of yours might be located."

The two of them did just that, entering the chamber Yunalesca had used to welcome newly arrived summoners. There wasn't much to see except the monkeys; the chamber had deteriorated even more since Cid had officially given the order to abandon Zanarkand.

There _was_ that door, though.

Cid strode up to it and pushed it open, stepping out onto the platform in the great Void, where Yunalesca had made her dominion. Across the platform were the steps into the late unsent's lair.

And the broken steps leading up…

"Holy _shit_," Cid said. "Back to the ship, Giaeggo. We need Yuna and Tromell here, _now_."

* * *

There was a sound from outside Lulu's cage, and the black mage looked up to see Sephiroth standing there again.

"Tell me," he said, "about fear."


	23. Chapter XXIII

Looking around at the Guado gathered to witness the closing of their portal, Cloud saw a lot more angry faces than understanding ones. Tromell had been authoritative enough, and the magic wind _was_ howling out of the portal in such thick sheets that it was visible emitting from the tunnel in Guadosalam proper. That didn't mean people couldn't be stupid enough to try to interfere.

Tromell was at the portal, closing it, with Yuna there in case something went wrong, and Tidus there because the young man refused to leave Yuna's side. With the exception of Cloud, Tifa, and Auron, who were standing guard at the tunnel, the rest of the party remained on the _Shera_. The fewer outsiders there were, Tromell explained, the better his people might take the portal being closed for the rest of the foreseeable future. Cloud uneasily noted that the mob appeared to be getting bigger, and that there were children visible between the legs of some of the adults. _Oh, man. If there's any place that needs kids _less_ right now, I'd like to see it_.

"Calm down," Auron told him. The old guardian was to his left, looking relatively relaxed as he leaned against the tunnel wall. "These people aren't about to try anything unless one of them comes out and says something stupid – at which point we give him a good crack across the jaw to smarten him up and the rest go back to their business."

At Cloud's right, Tifa nodded in agreement and rested a supportive hand on his shoulder. "We'll be fine, Cloud. Don't worry about it."

Cloud nodded back at her, mustering up a smile, and turned his attention back to the mob to see that they were making way for five Guado wearing matching uniforms. With a frown, Cloud looked at the uniforms, wondering why they seemed familiar to him, and then realized that they were almost precisely the same as the clothing Wakka wore. _Blitzball players? Athletes. Think they're hot stuff. This could get ugly_. A quick glance to his right showed Tifa straightening up slightly, probably thinking the same thing.

Within moments, the blitz players had arrived at the front of the mob, and they looked intent on causing trouble.

"What have we here?" the lead one drawled. His bright blond hair clashed with his dark outfit, and his posture seemed a bit better than his teammates'. "Outsiders with weapons is one thing, but outsiders with weapons escorting Elder Tromell to our portal, to close it and reopen it – never? I think we need to know a bit more about the situation."

Before Cloud could speak, Auron shot back, "I think you're a bunch of blitz players sticking your noses into something that doesn't concern you. I also think you should back off before things become violent."

All five blitz players stiffened, and Cloud wondered what the hell Auron thought he was doing. _They won't hesitate to call support from the mob. I don't want to have to do crowd-control with the First Tsurugi._ A hush swept through the crowd, and the lead blitzer stalked up to Auron slowly and deliberately.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

Auron looked him over with one glance and then started to chuckle, then broke into full-on laughter. The blitzer's face pinched into an enraged glare and he started to pull back to take a swing at the old guardian. Before he knew what hit him, he was flying backwards, blood streaming from his nose, and Auron's gloved fist was where the Guado's head had been. The sound of the blow, a loud, painful _crack_, seemed to explode outward an instant after the blow itself had been delivered, though Cloud suspected that was just because the strike had been so fast.

The other four blitzers began to charge. They ran right into Tifa, who took them down in a heartbeat, her fists blurring as she fired off brutally efficient punches.

"We are not here to make trouble," Auron said aloud in the silence, his clenched fist still outstretched. "But we will defend ourselves. Trust your Elder. Leave well enough alone."

With remarkable speed, the crowd dispersed in utter frightened silence, the loudest thing in the cave being the sound of the blitzers dragging themselves away from the tunnel entrance.

Cloud relaxed and instinctively wrapped an arm around Tifa's shoulders, to which she responded in kind. "Nicely done, guys."

Auron leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. He gave Cloud a small smile. "Let's hope Tromell closes the portal before they get their second wind."

* * *

The _Shera_ was the perfect picture of a sleeping airship. It was evening, and nothing stirred aboard the ship… unless you looked at the bridge.

Cid was relaxing in the pilot's chair, having yet another smoke and indulging in a bit of a nostalgic reverie for the old _Highwind_ when the hastily installed CommSphere panel began to go off.

Yuffie and Reno stopped moving for half a second to look at the panel. After that, Yuffie remembered that she'd stolen Reno's hairband and had been running around the bridge with it for ten minutes with the redhead in hot pursuit and started doing it again. Reno, hair everywhere, also resumed the chase.

The other person on the bridge, Red XIII, had been lying against an air vent on the bridge, letting it cool him off as he took a nap. Grudgingly, he cracked open his eye and said, "Is that who I think it is?"

Cid moved to the CommSphere and hit the RECEIVE button. "Cid here."

"Cid? It's Cid."

"Cid. What's the matter?"

"Giaeggo and I just investigated Zanarkand, and you won't believe this, but… there are _four other portals_ here."

Cid sat up straighter. "You're shitting me."

"Not at all. We need Yuna and Tromell here, Cid."

"All right, Cid. Tell me, though – how's our friend in the Calm Lands?"

"What are you talking about?"

Cid sat up even straighter. "We left a monster stuck in the Calm Lands – barricaded it in. You're telling me it's not there?"

"Giaeggo and I didn't see a thing out of the ordinary in there besides a lot of collapsed rock at the Macalania and Gagazet entryways. The Gagazet rock looks like it just tumbled, but the Macalania rock looks like it was taken apart on purpose. You neglect to mention something, Cid?"

Cid swore. "A little somethin'. Nothin' big. As soon as we're done with this portal, we'll… damn. I don't know, Cid. We can't drop everyone off in Bevelle and then take Yuna and Tromell to Zanarkand – we'll need the _Shera_ there as part of the siege effort. Speaking of, will you really need Yuna?"

"Not really, but it'd be nice to have her around in case something goes wrong. She knows the area better than Tromell or us."

"We'll see what we can do, Cid. I'll keep you advised. Cid out."

Cid cut the connection and turned back around to find everyone standing still, staring at him.

"Do you _enjoy_ doing that?" Reno finally asked. "Because it's annoying as hell."

* * *

Cloud was getting bored. It had been an hour since Tromell had disappeared up the tunnel with Yuna and Tidus, and aside from the brief altercation with the blitz players, there had been nothing to do. Right now he was polishing the First Tsurugi for the third time.

"You're quite bored, aren't you?" Auron asked mildly.

"I'd have brought a book, but I didn't think I'd need one," Cloud replied. "Of course, if either of you felt like making conversation this might go by more smoothly, but…"

Tifa gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Don't give us that. That sounds like something Red XIII might say."

"Maybe being around him again's starting to rub off on me."

"Well, I suppose it's a step up from our normal conversations." Tifa deepened her voice to what she thought was a reasonable approximation of Cloud's. "You've reached Cloud's cell. I'm not going to pick up _or _call you back. Leave a message."

"That's not fair," Cloud protested. "Leave the mean jokes to someone I can actually expect them from."

Abruptly, he felt the magic wind on the back of his neck cease. "I guess Tromell's done. Let's see him out of here."

Auron levered himself off of the wall and took up the Masamune. "At least there was no door here."

"True."

They began to move up the tunnel when they heard footsteps pounding up the ramp behind them. Cloud whirled, reaching for the First Tsurugi, but then he saw that it was Cid.

"We got trouble!" the old pilot said.

"What is it?"

"We've been idiots, that's what. We forgot to tell the other Cid about Omega, so he didn't report in right away when he didn't see him. On top of that, he needs Tromell and possibly Yuna in Zanarkand to close _four more portals_."

Cloud stared at him. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"Real funny, asshole."

"Call the _Celsius_," Tifa instructed Cid. "Ask them if they can ferry Tromell to Zanarkand."

"Didn't y'all blow a hole in their hull? They might not be willin' to listen."

"If they say no, offer to double their payment," Auron snapped. Surprised at the old guardian's tone of voice, Cloud glanced at him and saw that the man's eye was smoldering with anger. "We have no time to waste on the petty pocketbooking of sphere hunters."

Cid, wisely enough, didn't say anything. He just gave a thumbs-up and did a one-eighty to head back to the _Shera_.

"Sephiroth has deceived us," Auron growled. "He was obviously waiting until we were lulled into a state of complacency regarding Omega in the Calm Lands. Now that we've let down our guard, he has the fiend marching to whatever destination he has in mind for him."

"We double-time it to Bevelle, then," Tifa said. "Right?"

"Depending on how far away the _Celsius_ is, it may be a while before we can move. All we can do now is wait."

* * *

"Enough," Lulu snarled. "Love, fear – and now grief? Why are you asking me these things?"

Sephiroth sighed. "Exasperation… I know _this_ quite well. I have never loved someone. I have never felt fear. I have never grieved. They have never struck me as useful… but perhaps that is because I have never felt them."

"That doesn't answer my question entirely. What will they be useful to you for?"

"When I told you that I am constructing the ultimate body, I meant in every sense of the word. However, this body is not to be formed of anything remotely human save yourself – only JENOVA cells and other ingredients, two of which I currently have here and another of which is on its way as we speak.

"I am therefore trying to decide how _much_ of your mind I should crush when I take control of your magic-attunement technique – the full potential of which I can sense you have _still_ not deduced. I want to evaluate these emotions and see if I should incorporate them into myself from you, for the creation of a more complete being, or if I should eliminate them along with the rest of your mind."

Lulu stared at him. "You're insane. Emotions are complex because they _can't_ be reduced to simple variables in an equation and evaluated. Why do you want these emotions? I thought you hated humans!"

"Humans, while they are vile and pathetic little creatures that will do anything to preserve their own lives, cannot be ignored. It was my mistake to not previously regard them as a threat. As their physical shells are frail and their minds none too sharp, I have come to conclude that it is the ineffable, immeasurable part of them – these strange emotions I have no access to – that make them such a nuisance. I therefore seek to incorporate some part of that into myself or disregard it completely, based on how it will better or worsen me."

"What makes you think that what I can tell you will help you make a decision, anyway?"

"I can see well enough in retrospect to know that your replies have been uniformly useless," Sephiroth scoffed. "I'll have to broaden my repertoire of responses. I need new test subjects."

_That sounds unpleasant_, Lulu thought. "What about these other ingredients?" she demanded. "What are they?"

Sephiroth held out a hand and in his palm coalesced the images of three monsters. One was a giant, semi-humanoid ruby monster with whipcord tentacles for arms and another was a broad-shouldered green thing with four eyes and massive legs. Lulu didn't recognize either of those, but she knew the other one.

"Omega Weapon? And what are those two?"

"Emerald and Ruby WEAPONs," Sephiroth replied. "The two greatest monsters of my world. I've brought them here to Bevelle. Once the other weapon arrives, I can fuse them into a single physical shell for myself, at which point all I have to wait for is the arrival of my test subjects to determine what parts of you I should discard."

Lulu felt a knife begin to twist through her gut. "And… the test subjects?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"I already told you that I've never had any intention of killing Cloud early."

* * *

Tidus shifted Tromell's left arm a bit on his shoulders so it rested more comfortably there. The old Guado had been really hard-pressed to close this portal – it had taken an hour and the strain looked terrible. He and Auron were supporting Tromell as they all headed back to the _Shera_, which was outside Guadosalam on the Thunder Plains.

"Yuna, I've been thinking," Tidus finally said.

"What a surprise," Cloud's voice drifted back from where he walked in front of them.

Yuna giggled, then visibly took control of herself and chastised Cloud, "That's not very nice of you." He shrugged, still facing forward, and Yuna looked at Tidus. "What is it?"

"I know there's no way for us to get to the portal in Macalania, but what if Sephiroth knows that and he's counting on it? Shouldn't we try to at least do something about it?"

"We'll just have to hope he hasn't planned that far ahead," Yuna told him. "There's nothing we can do in any reasonable amount of time."

"From the strength of the wind emanating from the portal in Guadosalam, I think we're on the very edge right now," Auron interrupted. "If Tromell goes to Zanarkand and closes these four mystery portals, or even _one_ of them, we may be looking at total collapse."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, looking over her shoulder. "Total collapse of what?"

"As we've been assuming that the relationship of this world and the Farplane is like Cid's model – a container of gas with multiple necks, or exits to the outside – with the possible understanding of its limitless flow, there has to be a point where there will be a collapse of the container."

Cloud straightened up slightly as he walked. "You mean there won't be enough necks to vent the gas inside. The container itself will erupt and send it everywhere."

"If the pressure's maintained at a steady rate, yes."

Yuna shook her head. "This is troubling. What do you mean by the container, Sir Auron? Spira itself?"

"I don't think Spira is the container of the Farplane, no," Auron went on as though Cloud had never spoken. "The Farplane is another plane of reality – you can't contain an entire universe within a single world. However, suppose that the Farplane is a _pocket_ universe, held apart from this one by a wall surrounding it."

"We're following you," Tidus said helpfully. "I think."

"If we're correct in suspecting that the Fayth and portals to the Farplane are in actuality artificial 'holes' created by Yevon, then what they did was essentially damage select parts of the wall. By opening holes in it, we can now access the Farplane, but the wall is weakened.

"Suddenly, we begin to close these holes. Eventually, the Farplane has only one or two holes through which to escape. These holes are by nature weak points in the wall – and weak points collapse."

"And we have to remember," Yuna picked up the thread, looking equal parts awed and frightened, "that even as we made these holes in the Farplane, so did we make them in our own world."

After a moment to let the possibilities sink in, Auron asserted, "However, paths are only made by going forward. Assuming that the _Celsius_ can ferry Tromell to Zanarkand to close these portals, we will go to Bevelle and engage Sephiroth – and hopefully rescue Lulu, if he's holding her there."

"Sounds like a plan," Cloud agreed. "After all, we just have to do our best to contain Sephiroth so we can defeat him. If we fight him and he flees to the portal in Macalania, we'll close the portal in Bevelle and take the fight to him there."

Something rumbled in the distance as they exited Guadosalam and walked onto the Thunder Plains. Cloud chalked it up to lightning – his initial view of the Thunder Plains had told him all he'd needed to know about the place – then realized there was a great pillar of light visible over the horizon.

"What the hell is that?"

The _Shera_, hovering in station-keeping mode, was two minutes away at a walk, and they saw Yuffie running toward them from it, waving her arms at them.

"Guys! Guys!"

After several dozen seconds of the party staring at her, the ninja-girl finally made it to them, panting. "Guys, we have to hurry!"

"What do you mean?" Auron asked sharply. "What's gone wrong?"

"It's on the CommSphere," she replied. "We got a message from the _Celsius_ saying they're on their way for Tromell and one more person to escort him, but… Bevelle is under attack!"

"By what?" Yuna demanded.

"Come on, the SOS is repeating!"

Tromell disengaged himself from Tidus and Auron. "I can run now. Thank you."

They hurried to the _Shera_ and ran onto the bridge, the viewscreen closing behind them. Everyone was gathered onboard, staring at the CommSphere panel. "What's the situation?" Cloud asked.

Cid replied with a wave of his hand, beckoning them closer. Cloud drew up to the panel and listened to the tinny voice of a monk who sounded like he was terrified out of his wits.

"…attack… huge beast… entire platoon… breached."

"'Breached' must be talkin' about the city gates," Cid growled. "We gotta get there, and fast."

"How long until the _Celsius_ can rendezvous?" Auron demanded.

"Five minutes on the ground, two if we're airborne and make a midair transfer. We decide who goes with Tromell to Zanarkand _now_. My alter ego wanted Yuna to be the one, but I'm not going to give any orders about who goes and who doesn't."

Everyone descended into their own thoughts and silence reigned save for the occasional distant rumble of thunder. Within the next minute, they had to decide who would go and storm the gates… and who would be left behind.


	24. Chapter XXIV

A quick announcement: Schism will not update next Monday, March 7th. It will resume its normal update schedule on Monday, March 14th. Apologies for the interruption.

* * *

"I'll go."

The entire party, gathered on the bridge, turned to stare at the speaker.

"The hell you saying, partner?" Reno demanded. "Are you chickening out at the last second, now?"

Rude shook his head. "No, I've thought this through. Someone in this outfit has to use their head once in a while."

"What are you saying _there_?"

"Enough," Auron growled at Reno. "Why are you volunteering, Rude?"

The bald man adjusted his sunglasses and started to walk along the bridge as he spoke. "The way I see it, everybody here has someone to be fighting for." Continuing to move, he began pointing out different people. "You've got Yuffie, partner. Cid, you've got Shera. Yuna, you have Tidus. Tromell, you have your entire city, your race. Vincent, you've got Paine. Auron, I guess you have Yuna, too – you're her bodyguard, right? That's something I can really understand. Rikku, I bet you have a boyfriend in every town." The blonde giggled and made a gesture of modesty. "Wakka, you have Lulu – who we still need to help – and your kid. Red XIII, you're going to meet someone else like you someday, and you have to make sure that the planet's still around for that moment. Barrett, you've got Marlene. Cloud, you've finally figured out that you have Tifa."

Rude stopped pacing and gestured at himself. "But me, I'm just hired muscle. I've never had any illusions about forming relationships in this gig, and I never will. So all of you go fight for whoever it is you need to. I'll make sure that when the time comes, Tromell can to fight for _his_ somebody the best way he can."

After a moment of reverential silence, Auron moved forward and clapped Rude on the shoulder. "You see clearly," the old guardian said quietly. "Don't assume that you'll never have anyone to fight for, though. Your story is yours to shape in whichever way you choose."

Rude gave an almost infinitesimal smile and nodded. "And this is how it'll go."

"All _right_!" Cid shouted. "I think Rude's gotten us all psyched up enough, so let's go kick some pretty-boy ASS!"

He punctuated his declaration by firing the _Shera's _engines. The airship leapt into the sky and not even Yuffie was disturbed by the vertigo.

Cloud, basking in the positive aura that seemed to permeate every inch of the bridge, abruptly broke out of his reverie to find Rude standing in front of him.

"I have someone I'd like to fight for, too," the bald man told Cloud in a quiet tone. "But she's not mine to fight for."

For a second, Cloud opened his mouth to ask what Rude was talking about, then he clicked it shut. "Yeah."

"Take care of her."

His gaze drifted over Rude's shoulder to Tifa.

"I will. I promise."

* * *

Cloud hefted the portable CommSphere that Brother had given him. They would now be able to keep in contact with Tromell, Rude, the _Celsius_, and the _Fahrenheit_ at all times if necessary.

"What's the battle plan?" Cloud asked aloud, hoping that for the love of God someone had one this time. The last time they'd all gone in to fight Sephiroth together, the battle plan had been "let's mosey."

It had been a close call.

"We go straight down the middle," Cid laughed. "What the hell else d'you expect, kid? We're in a giant airship armed with a Heavy Gauss Cannon, we're not goin' for subtlety." He checked a readout and added, "Three minutes 'til we come into range, if my map's right. Make sure you're all ready."

"I don't suppose you're going to stay here and let us do all the work?" Tifa asked.

"You kiddin', babe? I wouldn't miss the chance to stab Sephiroth in the face for anything. After we blow a hole into the palace, I'll point the _Shera_ at whatever else looks like a good target and have her just auto-fire. We can't kill Sephiroth's toys until we kill _him_, so we might as well aim for the head."

Pulling the First Tsurugi off his back, Cloud detached the two switchblade-style shortswords from the main blade and stowed them in his harness; they'd come in handy if the base blade and its attachments were knocked away. _How I ever managed with only one sword is beyond me. I must be spoiled_.

He looked around and saw everyone else checking their weapons as well. He gave them a few more seconds before stepping to the forefront of the bridge and clearing his throat to get their attention. "Listen up!"

Silence quickly fell and all eyes turned to him.

"I think we're all pretty psyched by this point. I don't have much to say that could improve morale. So let me just say this: you, all of you, including anyone who's on the _Celsius_ going to Zanarkand, are the best friends a man could ask for." He paused to let that sink in, then added, "When we face Sephiroth, whatever happens, happens. But I want all of you to remember that. And I have something else to say." _If I'm going make a mistake at _all_, it'll happen here. Fate's just like that_.

He didn't have the traditional item for an occasion like this, but what he _did_ have were his keys.

Reaching into his pocket, he removed his keychain, the keys on it clicking together at an uncomfortably loud volume in the silence. His house key, the keys to his various stashes of materia and emergency gil, the key to Aerith's church, which he'd acquired from the landowner after he'd explained the situation, and most significantly, the key to Fenrir. Fenrir, apart from the First Tsurugi, was Cloud's most prized possession – it represented his freedom and his unconditional love. It was rather silly, but Cloud did love the bike; it would take him anywhere he wanted and didn't ask for anything more than petrol.

Tifa, who had been listening to Cloud with a contented smile on her face, blinked in surprise when he got down on one knee in front of her and extended his keychain to her. He was, in effect, handing her the keys to his life.

"Tifa, will you marry me?"

A collective sort of gasp went up all through the bridge, and Cid nearly swallowed his cigarette – Cloud could hear him coughing, though the beating of his own heart was thundering in his ears.

Slowly, Tifa's smile broadened, and she took Cloud's keys from him. "I will, Cloud."

Before he could say anything else, she held up a hand, then took Fenrir's key off the ring. "But if we're going to share our lives, we should start here. Hold onto this one for me." She put the key back in his hand. "I know how much it means to you."

Cloud smiled. "Not as much as you do."

Tifa winked at him. "I know."

* * *

Nooj slowly returned to consciousness. The last thing he remembered was showing up at the old Vegnagun chamber to meet with Baralai and Gippal…

Abruptly it all came flooding back to him and Nooj pulled himself to his feet as quickly as he could. Doing so revealed to him that he was in the senate chamber of the Peoples' Republic, and that he was not alone. Baralai and Gippal were also in the room, and they were also waking up.

Nooj reached for his gun and found it missing. _Of course; I don't bring my gun to senate meetings. But what am I doing here? What happened after they attacked me_?

"Wuzzgoinon?" Gippal muttered. "So head vaamc mega cusauha tnuja y stake drnuikr ed." Not two seconds later he sat straight up, eyes wide, and said, "Were either of you attacked by a bunch of black goo?"

Neither Nooj nor Baralai got the chance to answer before an enormous projectile blew straight through the ceiling and destroyed the council table.

* * *

When Cloud landed inside the Palace of St. Bevelle, the first thing he noticed was the ruins of a large table. The Heavy Gauss Cannon had blown right through the stone ceiling before reducing the table to rubble. The second was the three men sprawled in various positions of discomfort up against the far wall.

Auron landed heavily behind him and said, "I hope they're not dead."

Tidus did a midair flip and landed in a victory pose, then was slammed to the floor as Rikku landed on top of him and cried, "GIPPAL!" Yuna touched down alongside and looked very much like a woman trying painfully hard not to laugh at her husband's misfortunes.

Quickly, Cloud moved to the nearest one, a white-haired young man. He offered his hand. "I'm all right," the boy gasped. "Just winded… and confused." He shook his head to clear it, then staggered to his feet. "Have you seen a silver-haired man with an enormous sword? He attacked me and it's the last thing I remember."

"You say it like it happens every day," Cid jeered as he rose from his landing crouch nearby. "You go around havin' relationships with a lotta silver-haired men with big swords, kid?"

"What?"

"Baralai's completely oblivious, sorry," Gippal called from across the room. "I'm pretty sure that his special friend's the same guy who got me and Nooj. How long were we out?"

"You weren't out," Red XIII growled. "You were under his control for several days, directing the forces of your Republic against us. It was irritating."

"How might we make it up to you, then?" Nooj asked.

"Pragmatic," Auron chuckled. "Evacuating Bevelle as best you can is how you can make it up to us. We go to an apocalyptic battle beneath the city, and excessive loss of life is not in our interest."

Nooj nodded gravely. "We'll get to the announcement center and call for an emergency evacuation. You can count on us – assuming you explain what's been going on afterwards."

Surprisingly enough, Paine walked up to him and pulled him into a brief hug. Nobody understood what it meant except Vincent, whom Paine had told about Nooj. The fact that the Deathseeker had demanded an explanation of what had been going on, to be delivered after the conclusion of the battle, was a sort of pact implying that nobody but the enemy would end up dead.

Vincent inclined his head at the man.

Nooj grinned briefly, then the expression vanished as he focused on something entering the room. A pair of assault machina were making a charge in huge, loping strides, their gangly legs lashing out with enough force to crush stone.

Before anyone else had moved, Cloud had thrown his shortswords into their heads with pinpoint accuracy. The machines slammed themselves into the shattered remains of the council table, then stopped moving.

Auron pulled the shortswords out of their dead targets and tossed both back to Cloud in one motion. "Don't show off too much. You'll tire yourself out."

* * *

After making their initial discovery in Zanarkand, Cid and Giaeggo had gone back to the _Fahrenheit_ to send a message about it, then had torn the CommSphere system and sphere oscillo-finder right out of the ship to bring with them. Now Cid sat on the platform in the void where Yunalesca had once resided, staring at the stairs.

The stairs themselves were broken and only extended upward a short ways, but a river of what looked like pure boiling magic was flowing down an invisible set of stairs which stopped where the first set was broken off. It flowed from a point far enough away that it wasn't visible from Cid's vantage point in the void, but he'd have bet anything that the four mystery portals were up there.

He hit the CommSphere SEND button again. "Son, how long until you're here?"

"Oui ycgat dryd VEJA MINUTES YKU, Vydran!"

"Say again?" Cid said. "Giaeggo's learning to speak the Yevonites' language, do him a favor and show him your progress."

There was an exasperated sigh sound, and then, "You asked that FIVE MINUTES AGO, Father!"

"I know I did. I want to know your position _now_."

"We're pushing the _Celsius_' engines to full, but it will still be half an hour! Amuse yourself until then!"

"Roger." Cid flipped off the CommSphere – twice – and resisted the urge to whip his son back into respectable shape. _Kid's captain of his own vessel, now. If that didn't make _my_ ego swell up then I'm lying to myself_.

At the base of the river of magic, which had collected into a steaming pool in a small lowered area of the platform, Giaeggo was examining the oscillo-finder's readings. He would occasionally give a small, interested _hmm_, but he was otherwise completely silent.

"Well, Giaeggo? What's the story with you?" Cid demanded.

"This flow – flow?"

"River. You could say flow, but flow's usually used as a verb, son."

"Thank you. This river is magic – but a special kind. It is like Guado magic."

Cid's lip twisted with distaste. They'd gotten plenty of readings on the Guado fiend-summoning magic when Home had been attacked by the bastards. "How so?"

"It is good to use for creation, summoning. Changing of the shape, perhaps."

"You mean transmogrification?"

Giaeggo shrugged helplessly. "I cannot pronounce that, Elder Cid."

"Relax, kiddo. You're doing fine. Anyhow, assumin' that the monster in the Calm Lands was the only thing our friends forgot to mention to us, there was never any sort of Guado magic-esque flow at the other portals. Theories?"

"We did not expect these portals, Elder Cid. Why are they here? What is special about them? I do not know, but I am still young."

_Good man. Modest. _"We've got until my delinquent son gets here to figure it out, Giaeggo. Let's put our heads together."

* * *

Lulu stirred as she heard what sounded faintly like an explosion. The sound repeated a moment later and she snapped fully awake.

Outside her now-open cage stood Sephiroth's simulacrum. He walked inside, hauled her to her feet none too gently, and began to pull her along.

"What's going on?" Lulu demanded. "I heard explosions."

Sephiroth didn't reply.

"I asked you a _question_," she snarled. "Even if I'm a prisoner I deserve a decent answer."

Abruptly, Sephiroth stopped stalking forward and whirled about. His eyes were wild with glee and she could see every one of his teeth, his manic smile was so wide.

"_Cloud_."

* * *

Auron led the way through the palace. Though the place had gone through some structural modifications since his time as a warrior monk, he'd memorized its layout and knew it better than anyone else. They all knew where they were going: the massive underground Farplane portal.

None of them knew why, but they could _feel_ that Sephiroth would be there.

They rounded a corner and nearly ran into two more assault machina. Auron went straight into a three-hundred-sixty-degree whirl, cocking the Masamune for a killing blow at the same time, and sliced through the armored torsos of both machina at once.

"Don't break any bones, old man," Tidus drawled from behind.

"Hmmph."

They kept running, pounding down corridors until they emerged into the sunlight near the entrance to the courtroom where Yuna had first met Baralai.

And they all ducked at once.

Omega Weapon's tail came crashing through stone and woodwork alike where their heads had been. The monster disappeared into a massive hole in the ground after that.

"Who wants to bet he's heading for the same place we are?" Reno asked.

"No bet," Yuffie said. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is too damn stupid to live."

Yuna forged ahead and slammed open the twin doors to the former high courtroom, motioning everyone inside. "The elevator's too small for us all – we'll just jump. Unless one of us misses the landing spot, we'll be just fine."

"And if we miss?" Barret asked.

"Don't think about that."

They jumped, falling farther than even Cloud wanted to think about, until they landed heavily in what seemed to be a framework of tunnels with glyphed energy pathways for floors. Tidus took one look at what he was standing on after the drop and swore heatedly. "What was the _point_ of all the stupid sphere and pedestal stuff the FIRST TIME?"

Auron snorted and started running again. "We're reaching the point where my knowledge ends. Yuna, take the lead."

They pounded through the Chamber of the Fayth, down that hole, into the massive, arching collapsed dome that held the tunnels to the Vegnagun chamber. The hole they'd seen on the surface continued here. The hole was interrupted by the massive gap of the dome, then continued directly into the Vegnagun chamber itself.

"This way," Yuna ordered.

There were no assault machina left, by this point. All of them had been wiped out by Omega. That meant they made good time, save for when they hit the bottleneck of the second elevator that conveyed them up to the final passageway.

Roars and other, less pleasant noises echoed down the corridor toward the party, but Cloud felt no trepidation. _This is what we have to do, and I'll see it through to the end… for Tifa_.

They rounded the final bend and stopped, every one of them, in abject shock.

The Vegnagun chamber was filled almost to the seams, with an enormous, shimmering energy barrier about two feet beneath the extended circular platform acting as a floor and keeping back the immense magic wind that the portal would otherwise be spewing. The two WEAPONs from Gaia and Omega took up most of the space in the chamber. On the platform was Lulu, immobilized by Sephiroth, or at least a simulacrum.

Lulu saw them and her head snapped up. A look of pure terror took hold of her features.

"Lu!" Wakka yelled. "We're coming!"

"GET ON THE PLATFORM!"

She started to scream it over and over. "GET ON THE PLATFORM, ALL OF YOU! _GET ON THE PLATFORM NOW_!"

None of them hesitated – they all made for Lulu, double-time, and none too soon. Not a second after they had made it to her, the Sephiroth simulacrum not paying them any attention, a flickering barrier sprang up around them and something happened.

The simulacrum evaporated into black mist. A wind picked up, but not because of the portal; instead, a rippling hole in space, a singularity, blossomed above them and began to draw in everything in the room except what was protected by the barriers. The three great monsters were sucked in almost immediately, compressed into one incredible mass of ultimate power. At the same time, the barrier over the portal flickered out and died, and the air went black with JENOVA cells being drawn into the singularity.

"WHAT IS HE DOING?" Cloud roared over the noise. "LULU, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON?"

The black mage's expression had changed from pure terror to terrible resignation. She opened her mouth to speak, and all the noise suddenly vanished.

"Yes," she whispered. "He's becoming that much closer to being a god… and we're part of the process."

Everyone looked up at the same moment and gaped at what they beheld.


	25. Chapter XXV

Rude confirmed that nothing had followed him and Tromell, then ushered the old Guado up the stairs to the platform in the void. Cid was standing there, looking impatient.

"'Bout damn time you got here," the Al Bhed growled. "Giaeggo and I made sure that the four portals are definitely up this weird magic stairway we've found. And we have a theory as to where they came from."

"Elaborate on the way, please," Tromell requested. "If I know the origin of these mystery portals, it may speed my closure of them."

They moved through the door out into the void, where Giaeggo stood nervously by the stairway. "I have traversed some portion of the stairs, Elder Cid," he said. "It is strangely solid, but hot to the touch."

"You had a rope line on yourself in case something went wrong?"

"Yes."

"Good man."

"So, where d'you figure the portals came from?" Rude asked Cid.

"You wouldn't know anything about it, sonny, so lemme give you a little background. For a real long time, the only way that Sin could be defeated was with the Final Summonin'. Summoners would travel here to get the Final Aeon from Yunalesca, the first person to defeat Sin.

"According to Yuna, what Yunalesca did was turn one of the summoner's guardians into a Fayth. That would be the summoner's Final Aeon. Since Sin was killed five times with a Final Aeon, there're five ex-Fayth. Zaon, the stiff you passed by to get here, was number one. Then there were three other High Summoners before my brother-in-law, Braska." Cid gestured up the stairs. "But nobody knew where the Fayth for those Final Aeons were – until now."

"You mean to say that the Fayth of the Final Summoning for every High Summoner after Lady Yunalesca is up these stairs?" Tromell asked.

"Yup. Supposin' that the decay of the Zaon Fayth happened after Yu Yevon absorbed his Aeon to make the second Sin, I bet the Fayth up there suffered the same fate."

"In any event, we've no time to waste," Tromell declared. "If the portals up there remain open, they will provide Sephiroth with a prime escape route. I will see them closed, no matter the cost."

He moved to the stairway and began to ascend.

* * *

Even through the flickering light of the barrier that surrounded them, Sephiroth's new body was clearly visible.

What interested Auron was that the young man clearly possessed some measure of an ego image – what he clearly saw himself as in his own mind. The beautiful face and long silver hair were still present, as was the humanoid body, clad completely in black.

But there was _more_.

The light shifted, and Auron could see a massive, black wing unfurling from behind Sephiroth's body's right shoulder. A moment later, eleven other wings sprang up – five more on the right side, nestled into the greatest wing, and six on the left side. The wings, though large, did not touch the ground, instead arching out far to Sephiroth's sides.

His body hung in midair, motionless, the eyes closed as though in sleep.

"Lulu, did you know this was going to happen?" Cloud demanded. "Is that why you called us over to this platform?"

"Yes," Lulu replied. "The process isn't complete, though. He wants to absorb me as well, and gain control of my magic-attunement technique. Before that, Sephiroth wants to use all of you as guinea pigs to determine whether or not he should absorb my emotions as well, or leave them out of the process."

"How will he use us as guinea pigs?" Red XIII snarled. "And how will we get out of this damn barrier?"

Auron interrupted. "Look."

Everyone turned their gaze to him, then to his hand, then to his extended index finger. They followed the path of his indication and all eyes came to rest on a single pyrefly, floating up out of the portal to the body.

"Can you send it?" Tidus asked Yuna, his eyes never leaving the soul's path.

"I can try."

"Don't," Auron said. "The sending does not require that the unsent be willing to depart for the Farplane, but it _does_ require that the sender have a stronger will than those she sends. If I have at all glimpsed the measure of this man, Yuna, even your will pales in comparison to his."

The pyrefly spiraled lazily up to the body and disappeared.

After five minutes of climbing the stairway, Tromell and his escorts finally found themselves looking out upon another platform in the void.

Set into its stone surface were four large holes. Bits and pieces of rubble were scattered everywhere, in patterns that suggested whatever structures the debris had comprised had been explosively blown off of the holes. Steaming, raw magic boiled out of the Farplane portals, and the sound of the wind was nearly deafening.

Tromell surveyed the portals. "IT WILL TAKE ME AT LEAST TWO HOURS TO CLOSE THEM ALL SIMULTANEOUSLY!" he roared over the wind. "RELAY THAT TO LADY YUNA AND SIR AURON! THEY MUST HOLD SEPHIROTH IN ONE PLACE FOR TWO HOURS!"

The CommSphere on Cloud's belt began to make a noise. Continuing to watch the still-dormant body and cursing the barrier that kept them from destroying the bloody thing, Cloud grabbed the sphere and hit the RECEIVE button. "What?"

Rude's face blossomed in the sphere, and the sound of screaming wind nearly drowned out his voice. "WE'VE FOUND THE PORTALS!" he bellowed. "CID SAYS HE THINKS THEY CAME FROM SOMETHING CALLED THE FINAL SUMMONING!"

"Of course," Auron murmured. "It makes sense. Every time a new Fayth was created, another hole was opened up in the membrane, further weakening the Farplane. That's why each defeat of Sin preceded a bout of instability and a use of the Rite. That was the key."

"TROMELL SAYS TWO HOURS 'TIL HE CAN CLOSE ALL OF THEM! YOU NEED TO KEEP SEPHIROTH THERE FOR TWO HOURS!"

Cloud stared at the bald man's image in the CommSphere. "You are _joking_."

"NO! I NEVER JOKE!"

Stepping forward, Tifa took the CommSphere from Cloud. "Just keep Tromell, Cid and Giaeggo safe," she told Rude. "We'll take care of Sephiroth."

With a look of resigned concern, Rude nodded and cut the transmission.

"Uh, guys?" Wakka said after a beat. "Maybe it's just me, but…"

"…the thing up there is moving," Tidus finished.

All of them snapped their heads up to look. Sephiroth was indeed moving. His limbs quivered and he stretched them, inch by inch. His six pairs of wings shivered and then also stretched, arching higher and then outward.

Sephiroth's eyes snapped open, and even from his vantage point, Cloud could see the emerald green irises and slitted pupils. The young man bared his teeth in a manic grin and reached out his left hand in a grasping claw. All the air in front of him buckled wildly and then burst into green flame, dying out a moment later, and Sephiroth was once again in possession of his Masamune. His eyes flicked here and there as he drank in his surroundings, and then he locked gazes with Cloud.

_I've been so looking forward to this, Cloud_.

The barrier surrounding the party went down, and Cloud had a split-second premonition. "JUMP!"

Nobody hesitated. All of them jumped clear of the platform. In the space of a heartbeat, Sephiroth dove, Masamune held in a reverse grip, slamming the pommel of the sword's hilt into the platform. All the air was blasted out of the space around it, hurling everyone across the room. The thick metal platform buckled inward, leaving a huge crater in the middle. Sephiroth drew the Masamune back and drove the hilt in again, and this time the platform snapped apart into nine pieces.

Cloud managed to turn his fall into a roll, coming up with the First Tsurugi ready. He slammed away a section of the platform which was hurtling at him.

The maneuver left him wide open. Before he knew what was happening Sephiroth was there in front of him, Masamune still in a reverse grip, and the hilt crushed into Cloud's stomach.

* * *

Auron landed heavily, resisting the urge to curse. He turned just in time to see Sephiroth collide with Cloud. The blond man went flying twenty feet before finally skidding to a halt on the restored barrier over the Farplane portal. His sword landed a good distance away, clearly out of his reach.

_He's down_. Sephiroth had obviously not been attacking to kill, else Cloud would have been ripped to pieces. The strength and fortitude and rage of three of existence's greatest monsters had been collapsed into one man-sized shell, and it was terribly apparent.

The silver-haired young man looked around as though surprised that Cloud wasn't the only one on the attack. Then he shrugged, a smug look of supreme confidence on his face, and beckoned them all forward.

Tidus, the closest, rashly rushed in on his own. He leaped forward in a series of dazzling somersaults, terminating in a massive three-hundred-sixty degree midair loop that brought his Caladbolg high into the air to slice Sephiroth in half from head to toe. Sephiroth himself simply raised his right hand.

With a triumphant cry, Tidus finished his Spiral Cut, the Caladbolg whirling in. Sephiroth caught the ancient, razor-sharp blade in his hand, negating all of the blow's momentum. The finely honed edge of the sword bit into Sephiroth's palm, but he seemed not to notice. Instead, he looked down at Tidus, who had been slammed ingloriously into the barrier when his strike hadn't gone through. As the young blitzer began to scramble to his feet, Sephiroth drew back a foot to kick Tidus in the ribs.

Auron winced as he saw Tidus go flying in a perfect parabolic arc and crash into part of the old metal platform. He slid back down to the barrier, insensate.

Vincent and Paine were mere seconds behind Tidus, attacking together. Vincent triple-tapped three-round bursts at Sephiroth's head, while Paine continued forward, her sword ready to gut Sephiroth. Emerald eyes focused on the bullets as they flew through the air. The Masamune came about in a great and terrible arc, broadsiding all the small metal projectiles at once and sending them shooting in a completely different direction. Paine's charge was stopped dead when Vincent's bullets went screaming through her legs, sending her crashing to the ground.

Before Vincent could fire again, Sephiroth was stepping in, the Masamune shooting up right through the red-eyed man's gauntlet and out his elbow. With one great heave, he ripped Vincent's forearm clean off. Crossing his right hand over his blade, he backhanded Vincent across the face, sending him skidding across the shimmering barrier until he rolled to a stop, motionless.

Auron had long since begun his own charge, and fortuitously enough his timing coincided with Barret's, Yuffie's, and Wakka's. Barret fired off an energy bolt, Yuffie hurled her boomerang-shuriken, and Wakka leapt into the air and sent the World Champion spinning in.

Sephiroth battered Barret's energy bolt away with the Masamune, deflected Yuffie's weapon with a sharp upward kick that sent the weapon fifty feet into the air before it began to fall again, and merely ducked Wakka's World Champion. Auron read his opening and took it, swinging his own Masamune into a clean collision with Sephiroth's torso. The blade bit deep into the young man's body; Auron could hear bones and cartilage cracking as black blood spewed from the wound.

His gaze met Sephiroth's. Auron saw nothing but manic, wild glee in those emerald eyes.

Sephiroth ripped Auron's Masamune out of his body and swung his own weapon. Auron managed to raise his bracer in time to take the blow on that. The impact staggered him; his bracer cracked and fell to the ground in pieces. Knowing he was completely open from any angle of attack, Auron tried to assume a defensive stance, but Sephiroth blew right past him, knocking him to the ground. Three distinct yells of pain told Auron all he needed to know about what had happened to Barret, Yuffie and Wakka.

The old guardian managed to roll over on the floor to get Sephiroth in view again. Tifa and Reno moved in on the attack, Tifa with a lightning-fast series of blows that Sephiroth took without staggering and a kick that began over her head and landed squarely on the young man's left shoulder. As he moved to grab her leg, Reno leaped in and bashed him across the face with his riot prod. When the rod came away one of Sephiroth's eyes was gone, with nothing but black blood showing in the socket, but he kept going, grabbing hold of Tifa's leg. He broke it with a casual, almost contemptuous twist of his arm. Auron staggered to his feet and charged again, the young woman's scream ripping through him and making him see red. Tifa went flying when Sephiroth's closed fist landed in her gut. Reno tried another strike, this time looking to see how vulnerable the young man's new body was to electricity. Before he could even make contact, Sephiroth snatched his riot prod, bent it to a forty-five degree angle, and then smashed the Masamune's pommel across Reno's face.

Again, Auron timed his strike to coincide with his allies' attacks. Cid and Red XIII both went in at the same time. The scruffy pilot leaped high into the air and speared Sephiroth right through the face, just as he'd promised to do, while Red XIII slashed into his enemy's vulnerable torso. Sephiroth, even though Cid's lance would have been stabbing into the cortex of a normal humanoid's brain, reacted to both attacks at once. A sharp kick sent Red XIII careening into a piece of the platform. His impact left a dent in the metal; he didn't get up. Cid was landing when Sephiroth pulled the lance out of his face, then gave it a hard yank. Cid stumbled right into a strike from the Masamune. At the last moment, he managed to twist the shaft of his lance around to block the strike. The blow sheared right through the metal shaft and cut into his ribcage, but penetrated no deeper thanks to its diminished power. As it was, though, it still blew the pilot away, the cigarette flying from his mouth.

Coming in just as Cid took the blow to his chest, Auron whirled around on his heels in a Shooting Star, hoping to take Sephiroth's head off, but when his Masamune connected it felt like hitting a stone wall. Sephiroth's head angled sharply forward, his chin pressing into his chest, but he snapped his neck back up and grabbed Auron by the collar.

For a moment, Auron's gaze flicked around, looking for anyone still on their feet. Crouching behind a piece of the shattered platform were Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku. Rikku was staring in concentration at the collar around Lulu's neck, working at it with what looked like –

_A lockpick_.

The collar fell away. Yuna and Lulu both opened up full-blast at the same time. Lulu opened Flare vortexes all around Sephiroth, trying to incinerate him, while Yuna sent in the more accurate slashing beams of Holy to spear the enemy through the chest. For a moment, Auron felt Lulu's presence in his mind, and he knew the Flares would not affect him.

He lifted the Masamune high above his head and brought it down on Sephiroth's arm at the elbow, hard. It cut deep into the extremity but ground to a halt against the bone, which itself snapped out and protruded through the skin beneath, spraying more viscous black fluid everywhere. Thinking that he'd been able to distract Sephiroth for long enough, Auron looked down the length of the arm still holding him up by the collar and felt despair wash over him. Sephiroth was paying him no attention, but instead was waiting for the Flares to burst forth and for the incoming Holy strikes to hit.

In a flash, the barrier rose up from beneath Sephiroth's feet and absorbed all the magic fury directed against him, then collapsed back down into itself. Auron saw the barrier twist the energies and hurl them back toward Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku. Before he could shout a warning, the energy beneath their feet exploded in a massive gout of white flame and sent them flying, unconscious.

At long last, surrounded by the crumpled bodies of his enemies, unaffected by his mortal wounds, Sephiroth spoke.

"I have more than enough material here," he said to Auron. "Die."

Auron tried to defend himself, but Sephiroth moved too fast. His left hand came up, the Masamune level, and speared Auron through his left eye.

Red XIII came to quickly, only to be nearly struck unconscious again by the immense pain in his chest. He'd had broken bones before, but never had it been this bad.

Levering himself painfully into a standing position, he focused on Sephiroth just in time to see him stab Auron through the left eye.

"NO!"

Sephiroth took no notice of him. His wings pulled back, quivering as though with anticipation. He retrieved his Masamune, and Auron's own blade slipped from dead fingers to land on the barrier beneath him.

"We never even got to have a contest of blades," Sephiroth sighed. "Pity. Still, efficiency before enjoyment."

His wings struck.

All eleven lesser wings leapt forward at once, slashing into Auron's limp body with razor-edged feathers. The great wing drew further back and then drove forward, spearing what had once been a man on its wingtip and then tossing it away to land with a sickening, wet thud.

Sephiroth turned about. Before Red XIII's eyes, the young man's grievous wounds began to disappear. The bone of his right arm seeped back into the flesh and the flesh knitted itself. The stab wound in his head closed up and a new eye grew into the socket where Reno had dashed it out. The slash wounds in his abdomen disappeared. The great, bleeding chasm in his chest leading up to what passed for a ribcage sealed itself shut with a loud sucking noise. Even the wound on his right palm that Tidus had inflicted knit itself back together.

"Splendid," Sephiroth said aloud. "Could that weakling Kadaj ever have stood up to these wounds? One attack from Cloud was all it took to render him useless to me. This body, however, has proven itself." He sighed, and his wings shivered slightly, the light skittering over them.

Red XIII's eyes widened when Sephiroth turned his attention to him and returned the Masamune to his belt. _Not good_.

Slowly, Sephiroth stalked over to where Red XIII was struggling to his feet. He'd nearly managed it when Sephiroth grabbed him by the snout and hauled him up, kicking.

"This does look rather familiar," Sephiroth hissed. "I believe this is what the situation was the _last_ time I was bent on killing you." He leaned in close to Red XIII and added in a low whisper, "However, I must say I'm pleased you survived. While you are not technically human, you share some of their emotional tendencies, and it will be enlightening to compare other results with your own."

His eyes flashed. The world went dark.


	26. Chapter XXVI

Red XIII's world was a mess of colors and images. He watched from his hiding place as his mother fought the Gi, tearing into their ranks even as their spears raked her flanks. Her blood flew in streaks around her, painting the canyon red, but she still fought until she stood there, hackles raised, as the last of the warriors fled before the fury of her onslaught. She kept standing there, howling at them, until they disappeared into the canyon, lost to sight. When she fell, she seemed to slow, her body drifting down toward the ground as her legs gave out on her.

The sound of the impact, small though it was, echoed through the caves. Another tear fell to the ground from Seto's petrified face. Red XIII looked up at his father and howled, his own good eye swimming with tears. He had been wrong. There was a great hole in him where he had kept his hatred and contempt for his father. He did not know how to fill it, so he howled again, looking past his father at the full moon.

Wiping at his face with his paw, Red XIII looked back up at the moon. He sat on the gondola of the _Highwind. _Though he had been too young to learn many of the rites of his people, he knew they performed no funerals for their dead but this. So he howled at the moon for Bugenhagen, drowning out even the roar of the airship's engines. The enormity of his grief pressed down on him; he felt like he was trying to swallow an awful, cold stone which was far too large for his throat.

So he howled, and Sephiroth watched. He watched, and he sampled it.

* * *

His mother was thinner today. Tidus had been watching her slowly waste away for weeks now, but today he could see the pain etched into her every feature. He could hardly stand to look at her anymore. She didn't eat. She didn't drink. If she slept, it was the sleep of the dead, her chest barely moving. Things passed in front of her eyes and she seemed not to notice.

"You're not going to get better," Auron said to her. "You need to see a doctor. Please. Think of your son."

But his mother only gave Auron a blank, uncaring stare, as though she were looking at a picture or watching a conversation in which she was uninvolved. Then her gaze slipped off his face to settle on a point past his head, somewhere in the distance.

"Jecht," she whispered.

Tidus had to throw up. He ran out of the house, to the side of the docks, and vomited his lunch into the ocean. He curled up on the dock, shivering, angry and mortified and despairing beyond the ability of his ten-year-old mind to articulate. "I hate you," he whispered to Jecht, wherever he was. "I hate you."

It was true, but at the same time, he missed him. He missed his father's laugh, and how he smelled of the sea after a day's training, and the occasional glint of kindness that would shine in Jecht's eyes before he withdrew back into himself and his problems. He had no way of saying this, or even knowing what it was he missed, but somewhere in his mind he knew it was the truth, and it gnawed at him.

Another figure stood on the docks, watching Tidus crying softly to himself. He smiled. Now, if he could push things a bit further…

* * *

Dyne had been right. The Shin-Ra weren't trustworthy. They didn't want to let Corel use their Mako reactor out of the goodness of their hearts. It was their way or the highway, and the coal Corel mined was the one main competitor in terms of energy output. If they got Corel to stop mining, they would have an energy monopoly.

But his friends and fellow citizens didn't understand that. So he'd argued about tradition. He'd argued about their fathers and grandfathers. He'd argued about their roots.

Barret saw that now. The flames of the town illuminated it clearly for him, a flaming writ stamped indelibly onto his mind. It had been Shin-Ra promises that had lured them into this. Shin-Ra gasoline had started the flames. Shin-Ra bullets had shot his arm to hell. Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra.

With a nod, Barret accepted the last pack of explosives from Sephiroth before hooking them up to the detonator. It was all the Shin-Ra, and they were going to pay. They were going to pay for taking everything away from him. He had to save the Planet. He had to make people see. It was the Shin-Ra.

Sephiroth smiled. Yes.

It was the Shin-Ra.

* * *

Rikku ran through the burning corridors of Home. Fiends fell upon the party from all sides. She watched Auron cleaving through their ranks, moving steadily and implacably forward, while Tidus supported him, leaping and darting back and forth.

A Guado appeared in the hallway behind them, at the top of the stairs they'd just descended. He raised his hands to cast a spell, but Rikku would not have it. She leaped at him, foregoing her arsenal of grenades and other items in favor of crushing her claw-glove into his face.

He staggered backward, the twin slashes in his cheek stretching horrifically as he opened his mouth to scream. Rikku hit him again, knocking him to the ground. The Guado threw up his hands, crying for mercy.

Rikku hesitated, but Sephiroth leaned forward, whispering into her ear. "What mercy have they shown your people? You have been hunted. You have been ground into the dust and forced to crawl on your bellies. You have been murdered and butchered by the hundreds. What mercy have they shown you?"

The Guado screamed as Rikku lanced her claw-glove into his eyes. She hit him again, breaking his nose. And again, and again, and again. His screaming stopped, only to be replaced with her own as she kept raining punishment on him, crushing his head into a bloody pulp against the floor.

It was not enough. It would never be enough for her.

* * *

Yuffie finished packing the last of her supplies. She would be traveling light. She had a great distance to cross, and she was confident she would be able to find food and shelter on the way.

She just knew she had to go.

Her mother was dead. Her father was barely seen, spending all day napping in his house. Shin-Ra troops were everywhere, abusing the citizens of Wutai, laughing at their once-proud nation. It was more than she could bear.

"So run," Sephiroth said to her. "Run to the Eastern Continent and never return."

"I'm going to go get Materia," Yuffie said. "If we have Materia, we can be strong again. We can fight the Shin-Ra. We won't have to be afraid anymore."

"No." She looked at him in surprise. "You're not going to get Materia. You're going to get _away. _You're afraid of this place. You're afraid of the soldiers, afraid of your father, afraid of what will be asked of you if you stay. Isn't that right?"

"No!" Yuffie said defiantly, the lie written plainly on her face. "I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie. I'm not afraid of anything or anyone!"

But she was speaking to an empty room. Sephiroth had seen what he needed to see.

* * *

Wakka stared at the sword he'd given Chappu. His brother was gone, but the sword was not. Chappu must have forgotten to take it with him. If he hurried, he could catch up. Give his brother the sword before he left the island.

"He's already gone," Sephiroth told him. "You realize that, of course. And you also realize he left the sword because he doesn't want it."

His stomach churning, Wakka shook his head. His brother wouldn't do that. His brother wouldn't leave the sword Wakka had given him.

"Your brother fought with an Al Bhed machina weapon," Sephiroth said. "I can see it clearly in your mind. You're afraid for his soul. You're afraid that because he's abandoned Yevon, he's also abandoned you."

"That's not true," Wakka whispered. "Chappu would never do that."

Sephiroth turned to go. "But he already has."

* * *

"SHERA! WHERE THE HELL'S THE GODDAMN TEA?" Cid roared.

"Right here," Shera said quietly, stepping out of the kitchen into the den. "Here you go."

Cid snatched the mug from her and took a sip. He was too hasty; the hot tea burned his mouth. He swore again, but Shera had already left the room. For a moment he sat there, raging, wanting someone to blame but finding nobody but himself.

"That's the key," Sephiroth said, seating himself across the table from Cid. "You blame yourself for what happened." He frowned, an uncharacteristic expression, but only for a moment. "No. It goes deeper than that. You blame yourself, but only because you're afraid."

"Shut the hell up!" Cid barked. "Who invited you here, huh?"

"You're afraid of growing old and useless and dying forgotten and alone. You don't blame Shera for what happened. Not truly. But you pretend to, if only so nobody knows how broken you really are." Sephiroth chuckled. "You are a pathetic creature."

"SHUT UP!" Cid hurled the tea at him, but it passed right through Sephiroth's face, bouncing off the chair before shattering against the floor. He went for Sephiroth's throat with similar results.

Sephiroth ignored the pilot's attempts to grab him. "All this. Years and years of self-hatred and loathing, compounding upon themselves, misdirected at an innocent woman… because you're afraid." He stood up. "You disgust me."

Cid screamed at him, but Sephiroth was already gone.

* * *

Yuna floated through the water, wrapped in Tidus's arms. Her mouth was pressed against his. His body felt warm, especially compared to the cool embrace of the lake.

She felt safe.

She knew he meant it when he said he wouldn't let her die. He meant it when he said he wanted them to go to Zanarkand, away from Sin and Yevon and the mountain of lies which had made up her life. He complained a lot, often wasn't very bright, and fancied his wit far keener than it was in reality, but she didn't care. She loved him in spite of those things. She loved him because he wasn't jaded and bitter like many of the Spirans she knew; because underneath his posturing and attitude he was a good person; because he really _did _care about her, and made her laugh, and when she was around him everything seemed brighter.

And when he said something, he meant it.

Sephiroth watched them drifting through the lake, utterly absorbed in one another. He didn't understand this. He could pluck the reasons for Yuna's feelings from her mind, give them words even when she could not, but the essential _truth _of those feelings eluded him.

There was something he was missing.

* * *

Reno was happily cracking heads. The thugs just kept coming, streaming out of the ramshackle hovels they'd set up beneath the Plate. It seemed like there was no end to this street gang, but he was fine with that. As long as Rude was with him.

He loved his partner. He loved the way Rude could pick up a man by his collar and hurl him ten feet into his friends. He loved how the big man could effortlessly decimate an opponent twice his size with simple and brutally effective punches to vital points. He loved the way Rude could say everything he needed to without saying anything at all. When he spoke, it was short, to the point, and insightful. Reno loved that most of all.

Sephiroth frowned again. This was different. He would never find a memory of Reno and Rude kissing. They did not love one another like that. Nor would they ever _call _what they felt for one another love. But there it was; that same elusive feeling, that ineffable quality which he was unable to comprehend or put into words. He thought of his devotion to JENOVA, but it was not the same. It was not what these creatures felt for one another.

He needed more.

* * *

Paine watched as Nooj stepped up to the podium to formalize the Youth League's dissolution and incorporation into the People's Republic. Baralai had already stated his intent to dissolve New Yevon. Gippal was next, ready to tell the world the Machine Faction was no more.

She loved them too. But this was different than Yuna or Reno. Sephiroth could feel her attraction to them, individually, but it was not something on which she would ever act. They were all part of something greater than themselves. She loved them for it. She loved them for their courage, dedication, leadership –

Sephiroth shook his head. No. It was too much. Somewhere in his mind, he felt himself beginning to slip. It was a tiny thing, but it alarmed him. He should not be confused. He should not be questioning the wisdom of this course of action. He should be plunging forward without hesitation, seeing how he could push this feeling, use it to his own ends. He was many things, and one of them was a scientist. Scientists operated on logic. That should be all he needed.

But it was not. It was not enough.

* * *

"If she's happy," Vincent murmured, "then I don't mind."

"No!" Sephiroth snarled at him. "I can feel the intensity of your emotions for her. How can you simply turn away from her after what you've shared? How can you let that smug, walking mass of complexes lay his hands on her?"

"Because I love her," Vincent replied.

"That makes no sense!"

"Only because you don't understand what love is."

"This is preposterous," Sephiroth said. "I will not lose to some ill-defined emotion. It is a reaction of the humanoid brain, a surge of enzymes and pheromones. I can understand it. I can learn to harness it."

Vincent just smiled at him.

* * *

Lulu smiled as she held Vidina. The newborn boy looked up at her, dark eyes full of potential. She was so content, and proud, and full of anticipation for the future that it seemed like a physical pressure on her chest, trying to burst out. More well-wishers appeared at the door to their house, so she passed the boy to Wakka. He returned her smile, meeting her gaze as he accepted Vidina from her. With a wink, he said, "Love you, Lu."

"I love you too," she assured him. "Go see to our guests. I'll be fine."

"Why?" Sephiroth demanded. "Why do you love him? Because you grew up together? Because you somehow find that repugnant, limited body of his attractive? Why? What motivates you?"

She looked at him, and he felt rage course through his veins as he saw the pity in her eyes. "If you don't understand," she said, "then no words I can say will make you."

* * *

Tifa arched her body against Cloud's as he kissed her, his weight pressing her deeper into the bed. He responded eagerly, pressing himself closer to her. For a moment, he broke the kiss so he could look at her. He ran his fingers along the scar which stretched down between her breasts from her left shoulder. She kissed him again, ravenously, kneading her fingers into the hair on the back of his head so he couldn't pull away again.

Sephiroth watched them, feelings swirling inside him which he could barely name, let alone control. He was angry, he knew that much. Disgusted. Contemptuous. This primitive, ugly intertwining of crude bodies was the closest they could ever come to being one, to transcending their pitiful lives and grasping at an existence grander than their own. It was a fleeting thing – impermanent, imperfect, like everything else they stood for.

Yet –

There was something in their eyes when they looked at one another he could not grasp. There was a union between them, an understanding, which was beyond anything he knew. It transcended language, instinct, and thought. Only they understood it. All of them felt this, in some form or another. Sephiroth had never felt it. He knew he never would.

He was jealous.

He was jealous; he was jealous, and afraid. The anger rose in him until it reached a fever pitch. He felt defiled. How dare these pitiful nonbeings make him feel this way? He was a mere step away from godhood, but he felt a million miles distant.

"I love you," Tifa said as they lay there in one another's arms.

"I love you too," Cloud replied. "Until the stars go out."

Sephiroth felt the rage boiling behind his eyes. _He _was the one who was going to live until the stars went out. _He _was going to witness the end of existence, the end of everything. He was going to bring it about! Cloud was a miniscule speck, an insect that had stung a giant by sheer luck.

But he spoke the truth. Sephiroth could feel it. Cloud would love her until the end of time. He would be dead, but it would still be true.

And he, Sephiroth, would never understand why.


	27. Chapter XXVII

Auron was dead again.

"The little bastard got you, did he?" Jecht asked.

With a growl, Auron motioned for Jecht to come off of it. "I don't even want to think about it. What good is all the help I've given Cloud if he won't live to apply it to his new life?"

"So you think that by your death you will be responsible for the deaths of the rest of the party?" Braska asked, ever the calm eye of the storm.

"I thought that as long as I was alive, I could protect them somehow."

"And the fact that you were taken down by an opponent vastly more powerful than anything you've ever faced before, including Sin, makes you blame yourself?"

"I could have done something different…"

"Didn't you lecture Cloud on this very subject, Auron? And didn't you come through it yourself, a long time ago when Jecht and I died?"

Auron sighed. "You're right. I'm just angry at the situation and I'm putting the blame on myself. It's not fair to me, but what else can I do?"

"Maybe," Jecht said, "you weren't brought back to be given a second shot at life. Maybe you were brought back to be given a second shot at _death_."

"What do you suggest I do with my body? Sephiroth tore it to shreds. I couldn't make use of it."

"You know that unsent have power over their corporeal forms, Auron," Braska said. "You can reform yourself so that you can fight him."

"Do you remember what could _happen_, Braska? Have you perhaps forgotten Seymour? I was an unsent for a long time, and never once did I exercise supernatural control of my body in fear of what I might inadvertently do with so much power."

Jecht barked a harsh laugh. "And what could you do, buddy, that would be worse than what Sephiroth's doing?"

Auron paused again and contemplated the immense pressure he felt here in the Farplane. Surely once the floodgates in Zanarkand were closed, it would all…

_Yes_.

"I may not even have a chance," Auron said at last. "But if I expect everyone else to do their utmost to see this through and defeat Sephiroth, then I must give my own greatest effort. Someone must rise to the challenge of being capable of standing up to Sephiroth's new body, and I cannot ask any of my friends to make the sacrifice necessary to do so when I have made it already – and inadvertently."

Braska beamed. "That sounds like the Auron I know."

"I'll see you two again when this is over."

Auron oriented himself toward the opening in Bevelle. However this turned out, he knew what he had to do.

This was his story.

* * *

Cloud blinked as he slowly came awake. The pain in his stomach was intense, but manageable. He wondered what had happened, then remembered Sephiroth and where he'd been hit.

_Ouch_.

Piled unceremoniously in a large tangle of bodies and limbs nearby was the rest of the party. Cloud stared in undisguised horror until he saw the telltale signs of unconsciousness – steady rising and falling of their stomachs and the occasional twitch of a limb.

_Wait, Auron's not in there._ Sweeping his gaze about, Cloud found two things: one, that he was standing upright but unable to move, and two…

_Oh my God_.

What was left of Auron was on the far side of the great chamber. The blood had seeped out of the mass of torn flesh and clothing and formed an enormous puddle. Cloud fought down a wave of nausea and blinked back sudden tears at the same time. The last time he'd cried had been when Aerith had been murdered. _I didn't know Auron for that long, but he changed me in at least as many ways as Aerith did, if not more. Sephiroth has another thing to pay for._

Sephiroth himself was standing over the party. He turned around to look at Cloud. The expression on his face, rather than the smug smile Cloud had expected, was one of disquiet.

Cloud saw his friends begin to stir, and they also came back to consciousness. He heard groans and several sharp gasps – one of which belonged to Tifa, he could tell – and knew that nobody had fared any better against Sephiroth than he had.

_Damn it all!_

"I have learned what I needed to know," Sephiroth said, his voice quiet. He watched the members of the party drag themselves to their feet. None of them looked like they could fight anymore. Cloud gritted his teeth, trying to move, but his body didn't seem to recognize his intent.

Sephiroth looked at Lulu.

Wakka saw his gaze and moved to protect Lulu, but took a blow to the chin for his efforts. He staggered back and fell, narrowly missing Rikku, who was still panting with the effort of merely sitting up. Sephiroth grabbed Lulu by the throat. She kicked him in the groin, but he gave no sign of noticing.

"Don't do it, Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted at his back. "You don't have any idea what you're doing!" _Have to stall him, make him second-guess himself, _something!

He expected Sephiroth to laugh at him, denounce him. Instead, the other man glanced over his shoulder. Cloud felt a chill rush through him when he saw Sephiroth's eyes.

There was something wrong with him. Cloud couldn't read any killing intent. He couldn't sense any anger or joy in those eyes. All he could feel was a vast, cold void.

"You're right," Sephiroth murmured. "I don't have any idea what I'm doing." He looked at Lulu, who was gasping, trying to breathe around his grip. "But I need to know."

His wings slowly unfurled to their full span, and abruptly they were lashing out, closing in on Lulu.

The wings withdrew, and Lulu was gone.

* * *

Auron struggled against the enormous pressure in the Farplane. Traversing it had never been this difficult, ever – after he'd been sent he'd wandered for a time before allowing his form to fade and dissipate. Now, he had to muster all his will to give himself a corporeal form so he could plow indelicately through the torrential magic winds of the higher plane.

_How long have I been plodding toward this damned gateway_?

At least an hour, certainly, if not more. Auron's sense of time had been disrupted when Sephiroth had killed him, so he couldn't recall how long it had taken him to transition into the Farplane, but he would bet anything that he'd lost precious minutes. He had to get back and get everyone except Sephiroth away before Tromell closed the portals in Zanarkand.

Ahead of him, the portal to Bevelle loomed, a great and shimmering hole in the fabric of what passed for reality here. Wincing as another wind buffeted him, Auron secured his metaphorical footing, because securing his physical footing would involve him falling endlessly, and trudged onward.

_Almost there_.

* * *

Sephiroth spread his wings back to their full span and turned his attention inward.

The totality of his body was so vast, and yet so confined in this humanoid frame, that it was almost difficult to pick out the tiny speck of human that he now contained. However, her strong will pulsed out like a beacon, and Sephiroth drew himself to her.

_I must understand. You will make me understand._

* * *

Cloud, still riveted to the spot and unable to move, watched helplessly as Sephiroth stood stock-still, wings spread, for nearly a minute in total silence. The rest of the party remained motionless as well, though Cloud suspected they would have pounced on the silver-haired man if he hadn't effectively taken Lulu hostage inside his own body.

_What is going on?_

* * *

Somehow, Sephiroth had known this would happen.

Lulu's mind was shrouded in emotion. He knew this had to be a last-ditch effort by her to preserve herself, but unlike most last-ditch efforts he'd encountered before, this one was proving too effective for his liking. The emotions rose up at every turn, and even as Sephiroth tried to beat them down they rebounded, surging back at him and striking him. Unfamiliar feelings coursed through him and he struggled to maintain control.

Images flashed through his mind. He saw Yuna when she announced her decision to become a summoner, saw Wakka proposing, saw the first time Lulu held her son in her arms. He felt himself straying from his purpose, unable to maintain his focus.

He had no way of countering this. All he could do was try to force his way through.

* * *

"What is going on?" Tifa asked, gritting her teeth at the pain in her leg that persisted even after Yuna had done her best to heal it. The bone was mended but still vulnerable, and she couldn't place too much weight on it. "He hasn't moved for a while now."

"I vote we cut the little shit's head off," Cid growled.

"Lulu's still inside," Yuffie protested. "Would you want us to cut his head off if _you_ were the one he was trying to crush and absorb?"

"What do I have that he'd want?" Cid countered.

Cloud, still unable to move, spoke up. "Sephiroth's a human-JENOVA hybrid. I always thought that meant he was stronger, faster, and smarter than us, that he was superior. But maybe not being entirely one thing, and instead being made up of two things that were never meant to come into contact like that, robbed him of something."

"Lulu said he wanted to know if he should take her emotions, too," Barret said. "You think her feelings're what's trippin' him up right now?"

"What else could it be?" Cloud asked. "If he could absorb her emotions, he probably would have done it already. You know how strong his will is. So if he's still just standing here, he must be having trouble."

As she cast another cure spell on Red XIII, Yuna spoke up. "He's amazingly strong. But if he really can't understand Lulu's emotions – and by extension all of ours…" She moved over to Tidus to pour a torrent of healing energy into his chest. His bruises disappeared.

"What?" Tifa asked.

Yuna looked up at her. "I pity him."

* * *

Sephiroth, for the first time in his entire existence, was losing a battle of wills.

He felt Lulu's will behind the shroud of emotions and knew he could crush it in an instant if he could get a clear contact. But these feelings and impulses that he somehow knew he could never understand were getting in the way, and it was costing him.

And then it happened.

Lulu finally took the initiative. She crafted the emotions that were keeping him at bay into a weapon and struck.

Searing pain lanced through Sephiroth's mind. He was faintly aware of his physical form shaking violently and doubling over in agony. He desperately rallied his defenses, but Lulu entered and withdrew from his mind in a heartbeat, and with her she took the information he'd taunted her with – the ultimate potential of the magic-attunement technique.

_I have lost_.

Sephiroth cast her from his body.

* * *

An ear-piercing scream split the air. The entire party cringed, covering their ears. Shocked registered on their faces as they realized the scream was coming from Sephiroth. Cloud winced; he couldn't cover his ears, so he had to bear the full brunt of the awful sound.

His mouth was open and he was screaming incoherently, clutching at his head. His wings shivered and flapped wildly, and then his back arched into a concave curve, thrusting his chest out and throwing his head back.

Lulu exploded out of the chaos of his wings in a fine black mist.

"Lulu!" Wakka cried. He staggered unsteadily to his feet and rushed to her side, ignoring Sephiroth. The party tensed, ready to leap to his aid, but Sephiroth staggered away, clutching at his head. For the moment, he seemed to pose no threat, but nobody was eager to put that to the test.

Lulu's eyes fluttered open and fixed themselves on Wakka's. She let him pull her to her feet and then embraced him fiercely. "I'm okay, Wakka."

"Lu… what happened?"

Turning triumphantly to Sephiroth, Lulu replied, "I beat him. He would have made good on all his claims of crushing my mind if I'd tried to fight him with sheer willpower – our wills as human beings are nothing compared to his. But those emotions that he tried so hard to understand in his own way and failed to – those were the key. And on top of that, I now know specifically why he wanted to absorb me."

Sephiroth now stood silently, back turned to all of them, unmoving. Cloud had a bad feeling about this.

"He said he wanted my magic-attunement technique. What he really wanted to do was reverse it – he wanted to turn it into a _soul-_attunement technique. With a powerful enough source of magic, he could literally rip the souls out of everyone in the world and absorb them, increasing his own power. And since we've been sealing up the Farplane and concentrating its potency…"

"Shit," Cid said. "We were playin' right into his Goddamn hands."

"True," Lulu said, "except for the fact that he can't grasp human emotion. It's just beyond him. That's why he failed."

Cloud glared at Sephiroth. "Well? Is this true?"

Slowly, Sephiroth turned to face Cloud. He looked from the blond man to Lulu, to Wakka, to the rest of the party, all as ready to fight as they could be, given their wounds.

"That is indeed true, Cloud," Sephiroth finally said. "I have failed."

There was nothing in his voice or his eyes. He was completely flat, dead.

"I will never be a god," he said. "I may increase my power until reality crumbles from my very presence, but there will still be things in the universe I can never comprehend or overcome. I am ultimately limited."

Cloud was suddenly free. He bolted for the First Tsurugi, knowing he would need it.

"So there is only one thing left to me," Sephiroth continued, not seeming to notice Cloud. "Only one thing I can do."

Cloud grabbed his sword. "HE'S COMING!" he shouted. "GET RE-"

Sephiroth struck.

He leaped a hundred feet into the air, then hurtled back down toward the ground, smashing into the barrier. The magic field exploded outward, eerily silent, in huge tidal waves of energy that swept the party off of their feet and sent them sprawling. Sephiroth let go of the Masamune entirely, his hands curled into claws.

"If I cannot overcome human emotion," he said, "I can eliminate it."

Flinging himself forward, he closed with Barret, smashing the man square across the chest and sending him flying. The sound of staccato, jackhammer blows on cloth and flesh rang through the chamber as he took down the party one by one with lightning speed, faster than any of them could react or defend themselves. Their weapons lay strewn about the barrier, sent skittering and flying along its cascading surface by Sephiroth's initial collision with the magic.

Cloud had the First Tsurugi in his hands and he was moving toward Sephiroth when he saw his nemesis's fist lance across Tifa's pristine jaw and send her flying.

Moving so fast he was a blur, Sephiroth leapt forward and grabbed her out of midair by her vest.

"And I will start," Sephiroth said, "with her."

Cloud didn't bother to respond. He kept running, closing the distance, knowing he had to keep Sephiroth away from Tifa.

Tifa managed to recover enough of her senses to bring her forearm up to block the next blow, but then Sephiroth released his grip on her and laid into her with both his hands, smashing and tearing at her, blowing her back in midair almost as fast as he could accelerate forward.

And Cloud began to fall behind.

Bashing his right forearm brutally across Tifa's face, Sephiroth halted, letting her bruised and bloodied form skid to a halt on the barrier. The Masamune leapt up and flew toward his outstretched left hand.

Cloud was still too far away.

In desperation, he grabbed the shortswords from his harness and threw them. They skewered the side of Sephiroth's torso, but he took no notice. Out of weapons he could throw easily, Cloud leapt up into the air and came down in a Blade Beam, hurling the incandescent energy wave at Sephiroth. It slammed into him and left a smoking crater all up and down his left side, but his arm remained outstretched… and the Masamune flew squarely into his grip.

Cloud was still too far away.

Sephiroth grabbed Tifa by her hair and hauled her up into a kneeling position, her legs folded beneath her, her torso sagging forward. He looked up at Cloud. With a jolt, Cloud realized there were tears rolling down Sephiroth's face.

"There is nothing more to be said," Sephiroth murmured, his voice still bereft of any feeling. "Everything will be silent."

There was nothing Cloud could do to stop him.

Out of nowhere, a glowing red streak shot past Cloud. Sephiroth abruptly reeled backward, black blood spewing from his mouth and nostrils. The Masamune tumbled from his grip. Tifa collapsed, her blood pooling around her.

Cloud didn't bother to question this turn of events. They gave him the crucial second he needed to get in, grab Tifa, and get far enough away that they had some breathing room. His gut clenched when he felt broken bones shifting inside her body. _Tifa, please hang on._

Sephiroth lurched forward, seeming dazed. He straightened, turning to look at what had assaulted him. The members of the party, now heavily wounded, managed to stagger into positions where they could do the same.

Auron stood there, but it was a different Auron than the one who had died. This Auron no longer looked old beyond his time, but instead displayed every one of his thirty-eight years and nothing more. His red coat was unbound at the waist, left to flow open, and his left arm, which he normally kept in folds of the coat or outside it, was in his left sleeve. His hair sported none of the grey brought on by a harsh life and a harsher death, but was instead entirely jet black. He was clean-shaven; his sunglasses rested in a coat pocket. In his right hand, held as though it weighed nothing, was his own Masamune. At his side was his jug of saké.

But the most shocking change was that both his eyes were open and fixed balefully on Sephiroth.

The dead silence was interrupted when the CommSphere fastened firmly at Cloud's belt began to squawk.

"CLOUD! TWO MINUTES!"


	28. Chapter XXVIII

"TWO MINUTES!"

Cloud felt Tifa shudder in his arms. She felt broken, fragile. He needed to get her out of here. Right now, however, his attention was focused on the red-coated man standing between him and Sephiroth.

"How are you here?" he asked. "You're dead!"

"So I am," Auron said. "But death is only another state of being here in Spira. Our world has a close relationship with it." He shouldered his Masamune, hefting the heavy blade as though it weighed next to nothing. "I'll stay. The rest of you go."

Cloud opened his mouth to argue with the older man, objections rising in his mind. _This is my battle. You've already done so much for us. None of us want to see you die again._

But it was as Auron had said – he _was _dead. Cloud could see the man's corpse, lying still in a pool of blood. He was also the only one apart from Cloud who looked like he might have a chance of holding off Sephiroth. Everyone else was badly injured.

He felt a shiver run through Tifa's body. She was struggling to hold on, but Cloud could see how badly Sephiroth had wounded her. Blood dripped from multiple wounds where he'd laid into her with his bare hands, the force of his blows enough to shred her flesh. Her face was a mask of pain.

If Cloud didn't get her away from here, and fast, she was going to die.

"I wish we had time to say goodbye the right way," Cloud said to Auron. "Drinks, a party. All of that."

Auron chuckled. "I drink alone, and I'm not a festive person."

Cloud smiled. "Then I guess we'll see you on the other side, huh? Whenever that comes."

"You will," Auron said. "Count on it."

Whirling on his heel, Cloud bolted for the hole in the chamber bored by Omega Weapon. It rose all the way up to the surface and was their only viable exit at this point. "Let's go!" he shouted. "We owe it to Auron to get out of here alive!"

The rest of the party rushed after him.

* * *

Auron didn't watch his friends leave. He watched Sephiroth instead, waiting for the silver-haired man to make a move. But Sephiroth just stood there, watching him in turn. His expression was dispassionate, his stance loose and unguarded.

"Auron!"

It was against his better judgment, but Auron decided it was worth it. He turned to face Tidus, the last one out.

The young blitz star flashed him a thumbs-up. "This is your story now, Auron!" Tidus called. "You think you can handle it?"

Auron smirked. "Better than you ever handled yours."

With a grin, Tidus gave him one last wave. "I'm counting on it!"

In the next heartbeat, he was gone.

"So," Auron said, turning back to Sephiroth. "Why are you letting them go?"

"It doesn't matter where they run," Sephiroth replied. "I am eternal. I am tireless. I am relentless. So when I say I will end it all, I am not boasting or using a figure of speech. I will purge all life from the universe. The reality which condemned me to be this imperfect creature that I am will suffer for it. They can run to the ends of existence and I will find them and kill them."

"Why?" Auron asked. "What gives you the right, Sephiroth? Everyone is born into this world to suffer and eventually perish. Nobody ever said life was fair."

Sephiroth raised his hands in an equivocating gesture. "Nobody ever did. But it should be."

Auron felt a blast of air on his face as Sephiroth disappeared from where he stood and appeared behind him, sword flashing.

"I am the great equalizer," Sephiroth said, his Masamune darting toward Auron's heart.

* * *

"Thirty seconds!" Rude's voice rumbled from the CommSphere, the tinny quality of the sound doing nothing to lessen the urgency in his voice. "Cloud, is everybody out of there?"

Cloud motioned for Tidus to take the CommSphere off his belt, as he didn't want to risk trying to carry Tifa with one hand. The blitz star grabbed the CommSphere and thumbed the SEND button. "We're all right!" Tidus told Rude. "Auron's stayed behind to keep Sephiroth busy until the portals there are closed!"

"What?" Rude exclaimed. "That's crazy! It'll kill him!"

"Auron's already dead! It's a long story!"

"He's going to be even deader after this!"

"What?" Cid barked at the sphere. "Speak up, kid!"

The sphere showed Rude being shouldered out of the way, and then the other Cid appeared. "We've been doing some calculations on the Farplane through these portals!" he explained over the sound of the wind. "Tromell's closing four portals at once and it's already unstable! As soon as he finishes the Rite…"

Reno, who was supporting a still-limping Yuffie, summed it up perfectly. "Boom."

* * *

For the first time since he had failed to break Lulu's will, Sephiroth's expression showed a glimmer of emotion.

In this case, it was surprise. Without looking, Auron had spun his Masamune around in a reverse block. The point of Sephiroth's blade pressed against the broad side of Auron's, unable to pierce it. Auron's sword was pushed up against his back from the weight of Sephiroth's thrust, but his grip was steady.

"'The great equalizer?'" Auron asked, not even turning his head to look at his opponent. "You have a high opinion of yourself, boy."

"You are the only one who might possibly oppose me," Sephiroth said. Sparks were beginning to shower from the pressure between their blades. Neither of the weapons budged an inch, but the air was glowing with the friction of their clash. "Once I destroy you, there will be no one else."

"I think the great equalizer is coming now," Auron said. "You've wasted too much time, Sephiroth. Tromell is closing the portals as we speak."

He frowned as the pressure suddenly disappeared from his blade. Turning, Auron saw Sephiroth shaking his head, slowly, as though chastising a child. He met Auron's gaze, and his lips curved into an unfeeling smile which did not reach his eyes.

"Is he, now?"

* * *

Rude nervously flicked his gaze between Tromell and his own wristwatch. If Tromell's estimate had been correct, there were three seconds to portal closure.

Two.

One.

Plus one.

Plus two.

Plus three.

"Tromell," Cid said, crouching down at the old Guado's side. "You okay?"

"I have the power," Tromell gasped, tears of effort streaming from his eyes. "But I am… blocked. I cannot close the portals. There is something in the way. Something."

Rude frowned. He didn't understand it. Yes, there were more portals here than the other places they'd visited, but Tromell had said he could do it, so what was –

He looked at the portals surrounding them, four vortices of blue-green power. Without warning, he felt lightheaded. His eyes stung, like he was trying to look at the sun without his shades.

In that instant, Rude saw a pair of emerald eyes staring back at him from the portals.

The lightheadedness passed, but Rude could not keep himself from falling to one knee. Cid looked at him, concern written on his face. "You okay there, champ?"

"No," Rude gasped, surprised at how difficult it was to speak. "It's Sephiroth. Sephiroth is blocking Tromell somehow."

"What the hell do you –" Cid's gaze drifted past Rude to center on one of the portals. The blood drained from his face. He staggered backward, nearly tripping over the oscillo-finder before landing squarely on his rear. Giaeggo rushed to his side, but the Al Bhed leader waved him off, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"You see it too?" Rude asked.

"Yeah," Cid said. "I see it. If Auron doesn't take that guy out, and soon –" He looked at Tromell. "Well. Let's not think about that."

* * *

Auron reached out with his new senses, senses which only those unbound to crude mortal vessels of bone and blood could possess. He felt Sephiroth's will, extruded through the portal here, reaching halfway across the world to block Tromell's Rite.

"This is no longer a question of keeping me here until the Farplane bursts," Sephiroth said. "This is now a question of defeating me. Do you think you can do it, Auron?"

Auron took the jug from his hip. He uncorked it as he lifted it to his lips. The sake was good – piquant, flavorful, just strong enough to bite. He savored the taste, knowing that it was the last drink he would ever have.

He spat the sake onto his blade. "Lay on," Auron said, tossing aside the jug.

Sephiroth was on him in an instant, sword gleaming in the light given off the barrier beneath them. When Auron blocked his strike the air blasted out of the space between them, forced away by the power of the impact. That was fine; he didn't need to breathe any longer, after all. His new, unsent body held up, empowered by the magic of the Farplane and his own force of will.

Sephiroth didn't let up, swinging again and again, fast enough that his sword was nothing but a blur, but Auron kept up with the assault. He focused on economy of action, shifting through a dizzying variety of block stances with as little effort and movement as possible. The two Masamunes clashed over and over, soundless in the vacuum created by their collisions.

For the moment, they were stalemated, Sephiroth unable to pierce Auron's defense and Auron unable to mount a counterattack. It couldn't last, however. Sephiroth would change tactics in a moment, try to shake Auron up –

It came just as Auron had expected. The silver-haired man attacked again with a slash powerful enough to level a building. When Auron blocked it, Sephiroth let the impact hurl him away. He took to the air, wings spread behind him, though Auron knew he was flying through force of will.

Sephiroth cut at the air, brilliant blue-white energy leaping from his blade. A perfect crescent of destructive force lanced out at Auron, followed in quick succession by a dozen more as Sephiroth lacerated the air in front of him, seeming to bleed energy from the fabric of reality itself. Auron rolled out of the way, watching as the projectiles blasted into Sephiroth's barrier with explosive force, showering blue-white motes of fire. He jerked his gaze back up to see his opponent beginning to whirl around the Vegnagun chamber so fast he was difficult to see, a black blur against gunmetal walls. An uninterrupted stream of energy crescents hurtled at Auron, filling the air around him.

Auron braced his feet against the barrier. Time to show Sephiroth he wasn't the only one who could fly.

He jumped. The power of his leap sent ripples curling through the barrier. Sephiroth barely had time to be surprised before Auron slammed into him, pinning him to the wall with the broad, flat point of his Masamune. The metal bent and squealed as Sephiroth crunched into it, his wings snapping. Black blood spurted from his chest and back. Auron felt a lance of pain emanating from his side. One of Sephiroth's energy crescents had clipped him as he'd charged. He had no blood to bleed, but he still existed here as a physical entity. He could be destroyed.

With a start, Auron realized Sephiroth was looking not at his face, but at the wound in his side. He looked too, saw how the crescent had carved a clean path right through his unsent body. The wound extended from his flank up to his ribcage and bled white steam.

"All you are is mist," Sephiroth said, not seeming to notice the gruesome damage he had sustained. "You burn away when I cut you."

The Masamune danced in his hand. Auron reeled away, spinning toward the ground, as pain erupted across his body. More steam rose from him as Sephiroth's attacks literally burned away pieces of him with their raw power. Fighting through the pain, he righted himself in midair and halted his descent, forcing himself to stop falling through will and a generous dose of the Farplane's magic.

Before his eyes, Sephiroth's wounds closed. His wings flared out behind him as the bones knitted themselves back together.

He looked down at Auron. "I will end you."

Auron blocked his next strike, a charging slash at the end of an impossibly fast dive. The force sent him spinning. He hurtled into the far wall of the chamber, hundreds of feet away, leaving a dent in the steel when he hit. His supernatural senses flared with alarm as Sephiroth sent more energy crescents roaring toward him, dozens of them, in an undodgeable web of bluish-white death.

There was only one way out, so Auron took it. He pushed off from the wall in another charge at Sephiroth. One of the crescents passed clean through his chest, nearly severing his right arm, but he jerked aside at the last possible instant. Bleeding a trail of white steam, Auron slammed into Sephiroth again, battering aside his enemy's sword with his own so he could crush his shoulder into Sephiroth's skull. The attack liquefied Sephiroth's face, reducing his features to viscous black liquid, but he struck back, thrusting his bare hand through Auron's gut. His arm rippled with more bluish-white fire. Auron disengaged, throwing himself away from Sephiroth, but not before he had a hole burned clean through him.

Sephiroth began combining his tactics. He launched more energy crescents, then charged at Auron faster than the projectiles themselves, slashing at him with the Masamune before peeling off. Auron blocked the slashes and managed to twist out of the way of the crescents, but even as he did so, Sephiroth was firing off more of them, then coming in for another assault. His speed was too great to overcome. Auron deflected his attacks, but one of the crescents winged him, searing a line across his left shoulder.

He felt dread fill him as Sephiroth somehow accelerated his pace, flashing through the air at speeds no airship or fiend could match, while still maintaining perfect maneuverability. He blasted at Auron over and over, also firing off slow-moving spheres of glowing power which spiraled toward Auron at uneven and unpredictable paces, disrupting his ability to time his blocks and dodges.

It was clear to Auron that no single attack he could mount would hurt Sephiroth enough to put him out of the fight. He had to break the man's will so Tromell could close the portals in Zanarkand. The question, then, was _how. _Sephiroth would know better than to try to force any kind of mental contact on Auron, and the guardian was unsure how he might do it himself. He had never done anything like this before.

Another crescent made it through his defenses, scoring him across his thigh. He hissed. There was no way he could see out of this. No way at all. He was going to fail them all – Cloud, Yuna, Tidus…

_Tidus. _A memory came, unbidden, to Auron's mind. He was in the Zanarkand Dome with Tidus. They had just defeated Yunalesca. He was telling Tidus the truth: he was unsent. "Here," he said to Tidus, holding out a hand. "My memories."

The power of the Farplane had been strong in the Dome, which had made it easy to give his memories form. Here, it was muted, muffled. But if he could access it, free it from whatever barred its way –

_The barrier. _That was it. Sephiroth's barrier was hemming in the power of the Farplane, keeping Auron from accessing the greater wealth of its power. Auron felt his brows crease in an expression of determination. He knew what he had to do.

As Sephiroth darted in for another attack, Auron abandoned all attempt at defense. Even while Sephiroth cut into his body, Auron cut into his, crushing the Masamune through Sephiroth's right shoulder into his torso. Unable to pull away, Sephiroth struggled against the blade embedded in his body, but Auron was not done. Ignoring the searing pain of Sephiroth's sword lodged in his chest, he twisted himself around, putting Sephiroth in the path of his own energy crescents. They blasted into the silver-haired man's wings, shredding them to pieces. He shrieked, the first sound Auron had heard him make which wasn't simply talking.

Pushing on Sephiroth, Auron forced both of them into a fall. He kept an iron grip on his sword, refusing to let the other man pull it out of his body. Locked in an embrace of steel, they pinwheeled straight into the barrier hundreds of feet below.

Sephiroth hit the barrier first. It buckled under his impact. With a roar, Auron pushed, thrusting his Masamune straight through Sephiroth into the barrier beneath him, putting all his willpower and strength into the attack. He felt the magical energy begin to tear apart –

His sword broke clean through. The barrier exploded.

* * *

Tidus had just staggered out of the hole in the Palace of St. Bevelle when he heard a tremendous rumble behind him. On instinct, he turned to look. His eyes widened as he saw a boiling front of magic roaring up the passage behind him.

"DUCK!" he shouted, throwing himself prone.

The rest of the party ducked their heads as the magic blasted out of the hole in an enormous burst. Tidus got to his feet, his ears ringing, and watched as the white-hot energy rocketed into the air, dissipating slowly. Beams of brilliant light lanced out of the Palace, burning holes in the stone as they pierced the sky.

"What the hell's going on in there?" Cid barked, leaning on his lance.

"Auron," Tidus said. "That's what."

* * *

Auron floated in the chaos, feeling the Farplane's rejuvenating energy welling up inside his body.

Even as Sephiroth's wounds closed, so did his. The torrential magic wind which poured from the vast portal beneath them was like a breath of air after an eternity underwater. Auron could feel himself getting stronger every second. He should have destroyed the barrier much earlier.

"It makes no difference," Sephiroth said to him over the howl of the wind. "I will still kill you."

"No," Auron replied. "You won't."

Sephiroth charged at him again, but the wind buffeted at him, slowing his movement. It was almost easy for Auron to bash aside the strike. Still, he knew better than to become complacent. Sephiroth attacked again, but this time his blade spat energy even as he cut at Auron. The combined force of the attacks threw Auron back. He tumbled through the wind for a moment before he could right himself. Sephiroth's confidence was no more misplaced than his own. The silver-haired man was still stronger than him.

But Auron now had an edge.

Even as Sephiroth attacked again, he summoned his memories. In the Dome, they had been phantasms, forms without substance. Here, where the Farplane was so much stronger – where _he _was so much stronger – they were almost real.

They were real enough to come to his defense. The shimmering, translucent figure of Jecht materialized out of the wind, whirling his enormous greatsword into the path of Sephiroth's charge. The memory had no ability to cut him, but Sephiroth's attack was blunted, turned just enough for Auron to slip beneath it and slash open his flank as he passed.

Sephiroth whirled, trying another barrage of energy crescents. A barrier appeared in front of Auron and the projectiles shattered against it. Yuna floated in the air for a moment before disappearing, her blue and green eyes two points of gleaming light.

To his credit, Sephiroth did not demand to know what was happening. He knew precisely what Auron was doing. He attacked anyway, trying to get in a blow before Auron could react, but it was futile. Wakka's ball slammed into him, ruining his form. Auron took advantage of the opening, cutting Sephiroth across his chest.

More memories appeared. Braska let fly with a fireball which blinded Sephiroth to Auron's next charge. Rikku lobbed grenades which battered the silver-haired man about; as he tried to dodge them, he ran into a bolt of lightning from Lulu which passed straight through his chest and slowed him to a crawl. Kimahri cut at him with his halberd before breathing a solid wall of flame at him, one which Auron passed through without impediment. Tidus's sword flashed, deflecting one of Sephiroth's attacks a hair's breadth from Auron's neck.

His fellow Spirans were not the only ones to make an appearance, either. Cloud and his friends appeared too, wearing down Sephiroth's defenses, foes he could not slash or stab or crush. And all the while Auron was there, exploiting the openings they gave him, cutting mercilessly at Sephiroth with the Masamune.

As Sephiroth shifted to the defensive, concentrating on averting Auron's attacks rather than overpowering them, Auron could sense him growing desperate. That body of his had to have limits, no matter how powerful it was. Auron had to be cutting dangerously far into Sephiroth's ability to regenerate himself. He had to be close.

But he was growing tired. It was not physical fatigue – no, this was a strain on his soul. He felt himself being stretched thin, the fibers of his being unraveling as he put so much of himself into the fight. He was doing everything he could, and Sephiroth was still stronger. If the other man knew how close Auron was to falling, he would redouble his efforts, go back on the offensive. He needed to end this quickly and decisively.

Auron's memories threw themselves at Sephiroth, a tidal wave of glowing figures and magic pushing him back, back toward the wall of the chamber. Auron followed their charge, swinging with wild abandon at Sephiroth. The power of his strikes would have atomized stone. Sephiroth fell back, farther and farther, unable to stand up against the assault. Auron kept it up, implacable in his onslaught, until Sephiroth was up against the wall. He purposefully left an opening in his stance, an opening Sephiroth was sure to exploit –

He did. Right on cue, Sephiroth drew back the Masamune to slash into Auron's exposed flank.

As he did, Auron's memories, which up until this point had been a cascade of movement and color battering at Sephiroth, concentrated themselves into a single point of force. Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise as his arm snapped back, pushed by Auron's memories. His Masamune, impossibly sharp as it was, sank deep into the metal of the chamber wall.

Before he could free it, Auron brought his own Masamune down on Sephiroth's with all his might.

Both swords shattered explosively, riddling the two men with fine shrapnel. Sephiroth stared, dumbfounded, at the bladeless hilt he now gripped.

"You lose, Sephiroth," Auron said, "because that is all you ever relied on. As for me –" his memories gathered behind him, the glowing figures of everyone he had ever protected or fought with or loved – "I draw my strength from another place."

The power of the Farplane surged through him, his memories acting as an amplifying lens. Auron stretched out his hands, and from them burst a searing beam of pure white light. It bored into Sephiroth's chest, the essence of his being boiling away beneath the assault. Auron kept it up, using his own form – his own soul – as the focus for the vast discharge of power, even as it began to eat away at him. He felt cold creeping in at the edges of his senses. His vision dimmed. He could no longer remember the faces of his friends, or the sound of the ocean, or even his own name, but he did not relent.

And at long last, he felt Sephiroth's will, stretched through the Farplane to throttle Tromell's power, snap.

* * *

Rude, who had been pacing for the past five minutes, jumped as Tromell heaved a great sigh. The old Guado stretched forth his hands. Searing waves of magic burst from them and hurtled toward the portals to the Farplane. The magic guttered down into them. For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the flow of bubbling magic from the portals ceased.

* * *

The closing of the portals resounded through Auron's decaying body. The time had come.

That was good. He had given everything of himself. He had pushed himself to the utmost, put his entire soul into the effort, and he still hadn't killed Sephiroth. Even as Auron hung there in midair, his body slowly evaporating into white mist, Sephiroth was regenerating himself.

The force of Auron's attack had burned away so much of him, but it still had not been enough. His wings were reforming behind him. His arms and legs stiffened and flexed as muscle grew over seared bone.

But his expression was not one of triumph. He looked resigned.

"We have only moments left," he said as a rumble began to build beneath them.

Mustering the effort to speak was almost more than Auron could bear, but he managed it. "Yes," he whispered. "Moments."

"I could make it out of here," Sephiroth said. "You might not be able to stop me."

"I would try anyway."

Sephiroth sighed. "I know you would." He gestured at Auron's quickly-disintegrating body. "You gave up everything to stop me. Why did you do it? You said it yourself: everyone is born into this world to suffer and eventually perish. It is a cruel and unfair universe we live in. Why save it?"

"Because," Auron replied, "the people I love are in it."

"I see." For a moment Sephiroth floated there, silent, an uncharacteristic frown darkening his features. "I want to understand, Auron, but I cannot. I am too broken to comprehend it. I want to tear everything down in retribution, but the humans who made me like this are dead. Any more would be meaningless. Everything seems meaningless to me now."

Auron felt pity tug at what was left of his soul. There was no deception or malice in Sephiroth's eyes. He spoke what was in his heart.

"It is unfair that you were made like this," he said. "It truly is, Sephiroth. But it is not too late to change that." With enormous effort, Auron extended a hand. "There is no telling what awaits in the life beyond – not any longer, since the Farplane is about to cease to exist. Perhaps we will ascend to a higher state of existence, or perhaps we will one day be reborn in this world. Perhaps we will simply cease to exist. But, regardless – it is not too late to hope for something better instead of tearing everything down."

Sephiroth held his gaze for a long moment.

He took Auron's hand. "Then I will try," he said. "And we will see what happens."

Beneath them, the rumbling became a roar. A massive tide of magic surged up from the infinite depths of the Farplane took both Auron and Sephiroth, cresting up and exploding into the sunlight, destroying the Palace of St. Bevelle.


	29. Chapter XXIX

The party was only a few hundred feet away from the hole in the Palace when all hell broke loose.

There was an enormous roaring sound from behind them, and they all turned around to see a massive stream of glowing green magic erupt out of the Palace of St. Bevelle. It continued to widen, blowing through stone and metal like tissue paper.

"CID!" Cloud shouted, trying to shield Tifa in case as it began to rain searing drops of energy. "CAN YOU GET THE _SHERA_ OVER HERE?"

"THE HELL D'YOU THINK I'M DOIN'?" Cid shouted back. He had out a remote and was frantically pressing buttons. In the distance, they could see the _Shera_ orient herself toward them and begin to move.

Magic began to spatter around their feet, sizzling and bubbling. A drop landed on Barrett's arm. He yelled something that was thankfully incoherent and shook the extremity wildly, trying to stop the magic from burning him.

Yuna stepped forward and raised her staff, then an expression of pure shock blossomed on her face.

"WHAT IS IT?" Tidus yelled. The sound of the magic blowing out of the Farplane was getting louder, and the rain was increasing. All of them were swatting at themselves and offering up oaths. If they were bombarded by too much of the stuff raining down on them they could well evaporate.

"I CAN'T CAST A BARRIER AROUND US! THERE'S NO MAGIC TO USE!"

"I CAN'T FEEL ANY MAGIC EITHER!" Lulu affirmed. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENED TO IT!"

In a crouch, trying to keep the rain off of his sensitive nose, Red XIII felt something.

A warm glow began to emanate from his headdress. He frowned, wondering what was going on _now_, and realized that the sphere Cid had given him was the source of the heat and light. He reached a paw up to pluck the sphere from behind his hairpin and examine it. A quick squeeze confirmed his suspicions; the sphere had become pliable, even malleable.

_Materia_.

He looked up and saw Cloud and Yuffie both raise their arms where they'd absorbed their Underwater Materia back in their own world. Twin yellow glows began to emanate from beneath their skin, and Tifa's arm also displayed the glow.

"OUR MATERIA'S BACK!" Yuffie exclaimed, looking confused.

Red XIII sprang forward, willing the materia he held into himself. He felt a rush of power, wondering what the recording of Cid's airship firing the main gun would do.

Calling on that power, a magnificent, glowing wall of magic blossomed before him. The rain of energy thudded against it and was halted.

Quickly, the party huddled beneath the barrier, where they could hear one another without having to shout and were safe from the rain. "How'd you _do_ that?" Reno demanded.

"Apparently the spheres of this world make up the basis for the materia of our own world. Cid must have recorded the main gun of the _Fahrenheit _firing after many failed attempts. The sense of triumph instilled him with a feeling of invincibility – thus, a Barrier materia."

"You'd think that the recording of those guns firing would make a zappy materia," Yuffie disagreed.

"It is my opinion that the type of materia created from a sphere corresponds to the emotions of the people in the sphere. Anger and perhaps malevolent intent might create offensive materia, with the element depending upon the person experiencing the emotions."

Barrett snorted. "Magic. Got it."

The _Shera_ came in close, hovering mere meters above the rapidly dissolving stone of Bevelle. The viewscreen of the bridge opened down and out and the party hurled themselves inside, closing it behind them.

"Three seconds and we'll be out of here faster than the time it took for me to finish sayin' this!" Cid hooted, throwing himself over the control console and coming up in front of the wheel. "Everybody hold onto something!"

As Cid reached for a red lever on the console, excitement glittered in his blue eyes in a fashion that Cloud, for his part, found less than comforting.

He grabbed it and pulled.

One-use explosive jets mounted on the bottom of the _Shera_'s chassis flared and fired directly at the ground, shooting the airship up into the sky. Everyone, with the exception of Cloud and Tifa, was thrown to the deck by the ascent. Cloud spread his stance and ground his teeth with the effort of standing upright; he was not going to drop Tifa even if it broke both his legs.

Abruptly the ascent halted, and Cloud nearly hit the ceiling. He managed to land on both feet, wobbled for a second, then secured his footing, while everyone else ingloriously belly-flopped back onto the floor.

"Holy _crap_," Reno growled. "Could you have been a little gentler, gramps?"

"Yeah, but where's the fun 'n that?"

Cloud gazed at the immense column of magic spewing from the portal. It was at least a thousand feet high, rapidly growing, and what was left of Bevelle from the initial explosion was quickly being washed away by the tide of magic.

Looking further down, Cloud could see a great crowd of people escaping into the Macalania Woods. The ancient forest would provide protection from the magic – _wait_.

"Cid, bring Macalania Temple into view!" Yuna said.

Rather than argue about who precisely was captain of the airship, Cid took his time lighting up a cigarette and taking a long, sweet draw on it before complying.

As Macalania Temple came into view, Cloud felt his stomach drop into his boots. A second column of magic had spewed up from the bottom of the lake and totally destroyed the remains of the temple. The crowd of people fleeing Bevelle had altered their course. They were beginning to stream into the now-empty Calm Lands rather than risk the second column.

Vincent spoke up from where he stood in a corner of the bridge, holding his gauntlet in his right hand while his left arm continued to regenerate. "The CommSphere panel is saying that there's a general broadcast going out from Luca."

"Put it on," Cloud ordered, unconsciously falling back into the role of leader.

Paine nodded and moved to the console, as it required two hands to operate and Vincent was one down. An image of a skinny, bald blitzball player sprang up.

"Anybody who can hear me, take shelter, ya? There's something big goin' down in the north! _Stay inside_!"

Wakka moved to the panel and hit the SEND button. "Datto, this is Wakka! You read me?"

"Loud and clear, Cap'n! What's goin' on over there?"

"Long story! Is Vidina safe?"

"I got him snug as a bug in a rug. Any orders, Cap'n?"

"Take your own advice and stay indoors, eh? No tellin' what's gonna happen now!"

"Will do, Cap'n. Be seein' ya."

The transmission cut out and Wakka turned to face the rest of the party. "If they can see it from Luca, it really is as big as it looks."

"Uh, guys?"

It was Rikku. She was staring intently at the Calm Lands. "Does anyone besides me think that the Calm Lands are… _moving_?"

Cloud felt Tifa stir in his arms and he looked down at her. Her eyes met his and she managed a faint smile.

"Movin'?" Barrett barked. "You sure your head ain't on crooked?"

"She's right," Red XIII growled. "But it's not the Calm Lands moving… it's the continent below us."

"Cid, take us out over the ocean to where we can see the coastline," Cloud said. "We need to know what's going on here."

"Will do, kid."

The _Shera_ leapt forward, skirting dangerously close to the fountain of magic erupting from Bevelle. Cid kept her going for nearly three minutes, then spun her around.

Tifa turned her head to look out the viewscreen and said quietly, "The coastline's moving."

Indeed, the coastline was receding, moving away from them. Cid started the _Shera_ forward again at a relatively slow speed to keep up, and it was then that Yuna said, "But the coastline of the mountain ranges west of the Calm Lands _isn't_ moving."

Cid took the initiative, flying the _Shera_ to the small land bridge connecting Bevelle to the Calm Lands. He hovered not more than an eighth of a mile away from it. The party stared down at it.

The land bridge was slowly, inexorably being ripped in two, the ocean rushing in to fill the gap.

"The eruption of the Farplane is causing massive tectonic drift," Red XIII breathed.

"Say that again, only without the parts that made no sense," Tidus said.

"The interaction of the two columns of magic exploding out of the Farplane is pushing the plates beneath the surface of the world. As the plates move, so does the land on top of them. Apparently, the plates here are being pushed so that the land bridge that links the central half of the continent to the northern is being destroyed."

The CommSphere panel began to chime again. Paine reactivated it. This transmission was audio only, but the implications were undiminished. "This is Captain Lucil of the Youth Party military! I am currently stationed at the Djose shore, overlooking the Moonflow. Some cataclysm further north is causing the earth to split along the Moonflow itself! The lakes where the Moonflow end have already been split open and emptied into the oceans! If anyone has any information on this, contact us immediately!"

"The mainland is being split in two locations?" Lulu exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

"Tectonic fault lines must run beneath the Moonflow," Red XIII replied. "It's the only possible explanation. The tectonic stress being generated here is moving along those fault lines and pushing apart the southern end of the mainland as well. We may be looking at the formation of three continents out of one."

The Spirans stood dumbfounded, staring through the window as their world was being radically restructured. Everyone else exchanged glances that said the same thing: _Three down, one to go?_

* * *

It was two days later that the streams of magic finally stopped and the stark reality of what they'd done was made very, very clear.

Yuna and Lulu found themselves unable to use any magic whatsoever, but when Cid went into the cargo hold and fished into his emergency materia collection that had evaporated once the _Shera_ crossed into Spira, he came up with four Restore materia and one Heal. They'd healed over the two days, watching the magic spew into the air and then come back down to earth.

The Spiran mainland had been split into three. The southern and northern continents began to drift away from the center continent. As the oceans rushed in to fill the vacated space, the water to the west receded enough to reveal that Bikanel and the small string of islands nearby were in fact the highest points of a sunken western continent.

While the orientation was off, Cloud knew without a doubt that these were the continents of his own world of Gaia. The only thing which didn't fit was the axis of the world – but Cloud knew what would change that.

_JENOVA_.

Their materia's reappearance and the deprivation of free-floating magic also confirmed their suspicions. The Farplane had been ejected from its pocket universe in its entirety, taking on the form of pure magic, and then had been swept into the oceans. Crisscrossing magic currents across the globe had been all sucked into the two columns of starstuff and absorbed, to gather and appear as materia. Now the two remaining portals were buried beneath the ocean in the newly formed Lifestream. Guadosalam, teetering on the edge of the continental shelf, had not yet fallen and become submerged, but Cloud expected it would have to within the next century.

_We had no idea. Or did we_?

The party, now joined again by the four men who had been in Zanarkand, rested in Lulu's home in Luca. The _Shera_ and _Fahrenheit_ were moored at the city docks.

"Well, every goddamned religion ever invented 'bout the origin of the world just went down the tubes," Cid commented, accentuating his remark with three smoke rings. "Wanna know who created it all? A bunch of guys tryin' to stop an unrelentin' evil did it by _mistake_."

His pronouncement was met with silence. Cloud sat exhaustedly in a loveseat, with Tifa curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. Materia had done for her what any normal medicine could not, and she was in the process of making a complete recovery from the immeasurable beating Sephiroth had inflicted on her.

"It would have happened sooner or later," Yuna finally spoke up. "If this really is the configuration of your world, Cid, and we're your predecessors, then what must be must be."

Cid opened his mouth, and Cloud could tell that the old pilot was about to say something about the axis of the planet being off. Thankfully, Vincent – whose arm had fully regrown itself and was again sheathed in its golden prison – speared the old pilot with a warning gaze. Cid clicked his jaw closed.

"Will all of you be returning to your own world now?" Tromell asked.

Cloud raised his head. "Yes. Do us a favor, Tromell, and reopen the portal in Guadosalam once you return. I have a feeling it'll be necessary."

"Of course. But how will you get your airship back to your own world?"

"That's easy," Yuffie spoke up. "We'll just drop her into the ocean, blow our way into the Lifestream, and find the portal where Bevelle used to be. I bet that's the one Sephiroth used in our world to get here."

"Or perhaps it was the portal in Macalania," Lulu suggested. "It doesn't particularly matter, though. Everything has been set right, whether for better or worse, and all of you have to be getting back to your homes."

"Agreed," Cloud affirmed. "First, though, there's something we have to do."

* * *

The _Shera_ and the _Fahrenheit_ hovered directly above the ocean where Bevelle and the land bridge had been located. The entire party was gathered on the bridge of the _Shera_, while the _Fahrenheit_ hovered unmanned, tethered to the _Shera_,waiting to receive the Spirans after the ceremony was concluded.

Cloud began to speak. "We're here today to not only say our goodbyes to one another, but also to say goodbye to a man who was more important to us than anyone knew: Auron." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Auron was more than a bodyguard or a fighter; he was a father. He saw all of us through hard times and helped us against our foes, whether they were common enemies, Sephiroth, or our own personal demons. He changed all our lives to some extent, and even placed them above his own – he didn't flinch or hesitate when he knew what was required of him. Auron made sure that this fight spelled the end of Sephiroth, and he gave up both his second life and what most people would call immortality to do it.

"What made Auron special wasn't his fighting abilities, or his knowledge, or his sense of justice. It was the fact that he took all of these things and didn't let them define what kind of person he was, but instead blended them together to create his identity. He was a fighter, and a sage, and a father figure all at once. Words can't do what he was justice, so let me just say this: his name was Auron, and he was a better man than I am."

He nodded to Cid, who pressed a button on the remote at his belt. The _Not-So-Tiny-Bronco_ spoke, hurling a projectile out into the sky to disappear into the distance.

"Since you're not with us," Cloud continued past the lump in his throat, "this shell is for you. Here's hoping it'll never fall to earth."

He fell silent and bowed his head slightly, watching everyone else do the same. The Spirans apparently didn't have funerals per se for their dead, but they adapted to the process quickly enough.

After a long minute of reverential silence, Cloud raised his head again. "We should be going."

The funereal atmosphere evaporated, replaced with hugs, backslaps and handshakes. Cloud lost himself in the proceedings, knowing he would miss these people.

Vincent took Paine aside from the mass of people and embraced her as best he could, though the movement continued to feel awkward for him. He withdrew an armspan, his hands resting on her shoulders. Paine gave no notice of his gauntlet there, instead gazing at him wistfully, a half-smile on her face.

"I may not be able to come to terms with my demons quickly, Paine," Vincent said. "Until that day comes, I cannot share myself completely with you."

"I understand."

"But that doesn't mean," and at this Vincent's lips curled into a small smile, "that I cannot visit you every so often."

Paine also smiled, pulling him back into an embrace for a lingering kiss.

Rude, ever the portrait of professional stoicism, extended his hand to Rikku for a handshake. She reeled him into a hug, much to his apparent displeasure. After a moment he gave up and returned the embrace.

"Take care of yourself," Rikku told him, "and promise me you'll laugh at _something_ someday. None of my jokes worked on you."

"That's because they were terrible," Rude deadpanned. The young Al Bhed girl stepped back from him and gave him a light smack on the arm.

One by one, the Spirans disappeared off the bridge into the hallway and exited the _Shera_ through the airlock linked to the _Fahrenheit_. After what seemed to be a very long time, Tidus gave one last cocky grin and walked off the bridge, leaving only Yuna and Lulu.

"Thank you, Cloud," the ex-summoner told him with a small bow.

Cloud blinked. "You're welcome. I guess."

Yuna straightened up and smiled. "I don't know what the future holds for us, Cloud, but you made it possible. In the end, all of you really did save us from Sephiroth; it was your perseverance and dedication that saw us through to the final battle. We sort of just hung on for the ride."

"Speak for yourself, Yuna," Lulu said coolly. "I would have had Sephiroth wrapped around my little finger if all of them hadn't blown their way in at the wrong moment." She turned her gaze to Yuna, then back to Cloud. "However, I'll let you off the hook, Cloud, if you promise me that you'll be a good husband to Tifa. Wakka could certainly stand to learn a thing or two from you."

Cloud grinned in spite of himself and nodded. "No worries. Take care of yourselves."

The two women bowed again and then they were gone.

Cid, who had taken up position behind the wheel, keyed the CommSphere panel. "Everything in order, Cid?"

"Yup," the voice of the _Fahrenheit_'s captain came through. "We're ready to detach, Cid. Good luck."

"To you too, Cid. Nice meetin' ya."

"See you, Cid. Happy travels."

Cid terminated the transmission and looked up to see Reno shaking his head. "That's one thing I _won't_ miss," the redhead drawled.

With a noise like a balloon popping, the _Fahrenheit_ detached its docking tube from the _Shera_'s airlock and maneuvered to a safe distance. Cid reached for the button he wanted to press, then hesitated.

"Cloud," he barked. "If you would hurry yer spiky ass up an' give the signal!"

Cloud started and looked around at his friends. He met all their gazes, and every one of them was telling him _go ahead_.

An indescribably good feeling swept through him. _Thank you, Auron. These people, each of them worth a hundred others, just like you said, really are my friends and trust me with their lives. I might never have come to this realization without your help_.

He strode up to Tifa, grinning, and rested a hand on her shoulder. She grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a kiss that sent thrills running up and down his body.

"Alright, everybody," Cloud declared. "Let's mosey."

The bridge was filled with a long and triumphant victory cry, with Cid's loud _whoop_ rising above the rest of the noise as he hit the button. The _Shera_ fired a projectile down into the water, then dove toward it at top speed, nose-first, and plunged in. Cloud felt the vertigo and the jarring impact of the water only faintly through the rush of adrenalin shooting through him. _Yuffie didn't even throw up. Amazing_.

Cid hit another button. The airship changed to its aquatic mode, shooting down after the projectile. He flicked the _Shera_'s running lights to reveal a gaping hole in the ocean floor, beyond which shone the rushing green light of the newly born Lifestream. Visible through the light was a gap in reality which shimmered and seemed to warp before their eyes.

Putting on a burst of speed, the _Shera_ dove in.


	30. Chapter XXX

The _Shera_ exploded out of the ocean into the sunlight, quickly shifting to its aerial configuration before it could drop back down into the water.

Cloud stared out at the vista before them. "Did we do it? Are we really back home?"

Cid flicked a button on the radio panel. "This is _Shera_ callin' Pompous Ass Base, repeat, _Shera_ callin' Pompous Ass Base, over."

A dry, irritated-sounding voice answered. "This is Rufus. You certainly took your sweet time, _Shera_."

Cloud grinned. He moved to stand beside Cid, Tifa close behind him. Before Cid could answer, a new voice cut in, but not from the radio. Cait Sith, who had been lying dormant in a corner of the bridge for what seemed like a lifetime, sprang to its feet and began to do a profoundly stupid little jig. "You made it back!"

"Yeah, Reeve, we did," Barret growled. "No thanks to yer lazy ass, though. What the hell you been _doin'_ all this time?"

"We could ask you the same question! While you were gone Junon officially declared its independence as a military nation – a nation of about twelve square miles –" at this the moogle sniggered – "and then threatened to declare war on anyone who attacked."

Cloud nearly keeled over at the thought of having to go fight _more_ battles after all they'd been through. "Tell me you're joking."

"Nope. Thing is, though, that not two days later the government was overthrown by a militia rebellion and now they're suing for peace. The WRO is taking care of the talks in your absence, since you guys were the first people the government of Edge wanted to send."

Reno and Rude exchanged glances. "You think the guys we straightened out in that elevator were on _our_ side, partner?"

Rude merely raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

"What's the status of your mission?" Rufus asked. "What happened to the WEAPONs, and JENOVA, and Sephiroth?"

"All disposed of," Cloud replied curtly. "We don't have to worry about them anymore."

A pause. "Excellent. And since the Junon situation resolved itself, I don't think I have any further use for you at the moment."

"You got no idea how glad that makes us," Cid laughed. "So, kiddo, d'you want yer Heavy Gauss Cannon back?"

"Keep it. The fact that it worked for you means I can give the green-light on full production. Consider having played the part of guinea pig as the price for the gun."

"You're not concerned about having a crazy, chain-smoking alcoholic pilot in possession of one of the most powerful conventional weapons in the world?" Tifa asked wryly.

"Hey!" the pilot protested. "I drink _tea_, thanks. If I'm an alcoholic then Rufus here's a saint."

"Only time will tell," Rufus drawled. "Oh, and tell Reno and Rude they have two weeks' leave before they're to report to me at Healin. Congratulations on a job well done." There was a pop, and the radio went silent.

"So, Reeve," Cloud said to Cait Sith. "Just what have _you_ been doing?"

* * *

Once again, the _Shera_ landed on the reinforced roof of Tifa's Seventh Heaven. Waiting for them were Reeve, Marlene, and Denzel.

Cid opened the viewscreen on the bridge and the party disembarked. Barret stampeded through to grab Marlene and wrap her in a hug of which Cloud was not envious. He was about to tell the older man to go easy when Denzel nearly bowled him over with a surprise leap.

"Cloud!"

"Long time no see," Cloud said with a smile, discreetly regaining his balance. "What's been going on?"

"I've been taking care of them," Reeve spoke up. At first glance he appeared no different from the other times Cloud had seen him, but upon closer examination it was obvious that he was bone tired. "Frankly, Barret, I don't see how you keep up with Marlene."

"She was runnin' you ragged, Tuesti?" Barret laughed. "That's my girl."

Reeve gave a put-upon sigh before returning his attention to Cloud. "I don't know what happened on the other side of that portal, Cloud, but it certainly can't have been as hard as taking care of two rambunctious children. Consider yourself and everyone else who went with you lucky."

For reasons entirely different than Reeve was suggesting, Cloud smiled and instinctively wrapped an arm around Tifa's shoulders. "I do, Reeve. I do."

* * *

Tidus flopped onto a couch in the den of their house. "Well, that's another deadly threat taken down thanks to our favorite blitzball star," he said to Yuna.

Yuna resisted the urge to laugh and instead sat down on the end of the couch next to Tidus's head, letting him push himself up toward her and rest his head in her lap. "It was certainly more than I was expecting."

"You gotta figure, we've saved the world something like three times now."

"I'm not sure if we saved it this time," Yuna said. "It's almost more like we made a new one."

"Is that really so bad, Yuna? Doing that means they can be born, and find the portals, and come back and meet us. I think."

Giggling softly, Yuna began to absentmindedly stroke Tidus's hair. "You're right. This is a brave new world surrounding us, with no magic save what we can draw from this materia that Cloud and his friends talked about. We're going to have to learn to live in it."

Tidus frowned. "Speaking of that materia stuff," he said, "don't you have a sphere in the closet? From when you were with the Gullwings?"

"I do, actually. I used it as a dressphere… the Floral Fallal."

Without another word, Tidus sat up, swung his legs off of the couch, and moved to the hall closet. He opened it carefully, not knowing what was liable to fall on his head.

"Yuna… look at this!"

Rising from the couch, Yuna moved to stand next to Tidus and stared. Her sphere, which had been a faint, glowing orange before, had transformed itself into a pure white materia that pulsed with a quiet, inner light. Carefully, she reached out and picked it up, wondering what powers it could have.

"I don't feel anything from it," Yuna observed at long last. "I… don't think it does anything."

Tidus extended a hand and she gave the sphere to him. He held it up to one ear, tapped it several times, and tossed it from one hand to the other. "Nope, nothing. Guess this materia doesn't do anything at all."

* * *

Brother turned off the CommSphere. "Listen up, Gullwings! Father just sent a message telling us to rendezvous with him over the Calm Lands. There are a million refugees there and we're going to help them get their act together to build a city!"

Rikku stared at him. "I don't know who's crazier – Pops, for coming up with this scheme, or you, for _going along with it!_"

"Coordinates are set," Buddy reported dryly. "Let's not crash before we get there, okay, Brother?"

"Hey! Do not insult my abilities as pilot!"

The two young men began to argue back and forth while Rikku and Paine retreated to the rear of the bridge. "How's it look?" Rikku asked Paine.

Stretching her right arm, which was exhibiting colored glows in several places, Paine shrugged. "It looks fine to me. Our spheres are all now different types of materia. With LeBlanc gone, and Trema and his sphere collection destroyed, we're probably sitting on the biggest pile of materia in the world."

"So what do we do with it? Sell it? Hide it? Use it?"

"I'm all in favor of using it. It's ours, after all."

The _Celsius_ jerked as her engines flared. They began to rocket toward the Calm Lands.

"Things are looking up," Rikku declared happily. "With Pops' financial backing, this materia, the Republic's leaders on our side, and whatever Shinra claims he's cooking up, the Gullwings are on their way to the top!"

Paine nodded and experimentally sent an arc of electricity streaming between the forefinger and thumb of her right hand. "I hope Vincent will be impressed when he comes to visit."

"He sure will! Just think about it – Paine, chief of security for the new city, and her deputy Rikku! What should we call ourselves?"

Hesitating for a moment, Paine stopped focusing the Materia. Her mouth slowly curved into a smile. "Vincent told me at one point that the organization he used to belong to was called the Turks."

Seated at his console, Shinra kept analyzing the endless data pouring in from the Lifestream.

* * *

Reno was trying his best to get a crick out of his neck. Ordinarily he would have just grabbed his head and twisted it around until he heard something pop, but he was lying in a beach chair with Yuffie, and she looked like she was sleeping, curled up in the crook of his arm.

So he twisted his neck this way and that, trying not to disturb her. Aside from the annoying crick in his neck, everything was perfect.

Rude was in a beach chair to the right. He had an umbrella up over him and was still in his suit.

"Hey, partner," Reno said, softly in order not to wake Yuffie.

"Yeah?"

"You look uncomfortable as hell."

For a moment Rude looked nonplussed, then he shrugged and adjusted his sunglasses. "I don't like beaches."

"I told you we should have gone vacationing in Wutai," Yuffie murmured, her eyes still closed.

Giving in to the urge, Reno grabbed himself by the chin and cracked his neck loudly and satisfyingly. The ninja-girl didn't twitch, but merely smiled. "I was waiting to see how long it'd take you to do that, sugar."

"Well, _thanks_." Reno gave Rude a _see-what-I-put-up-with?_ look over Yuffie's head and got a stone-walled stare in return. "Anyway," the redhead continued, "the last time that Rude and I went vacationing in Wutai, we had to get up and save you from a horny crime boss."

Yuffie grinned and gave him a pert kiss on the lips. "I'll be good."

Reno returned her grin and glanced at Rude again. His partner was stolidly inspecting his leather-gloved fingernails.

"We've got another week and a half or so of vacation," Reno said cheerfully. "Why not?"

* * *

Barret and Red XIII found themselves tracking an animal that had raided the food stores of the camp based at the big man's latest oil find.

They moved through an especially overgrown section of jungle, the foliage and crawling insects so thick the ground seemed to throb beneath their feet. Barret cursed as he stepped in something, then cursed again and stepped on it several more times. "Damn thing's led us on quite a chase, eh, Red?"

Scenting the air, Red XIII growled affirmatively. Despite the civilized demeanor he put on around most of his companions, this was always something he loved – the wild, the thrill of the hunt. The musky scent of their prey lingered in his nostrils. It was peculiarly familiar.

The trail continued for nearly a mile before Red XIII felt that they'd made progress. Here the scent was fresher, newer; his nostrils flared and his lips peeled back from his teeth, ears flattening in anticipation of the kill. Barret made no comment, since he was just as excited as the beast, though he showed no more than a wide grin.

Something leapt out of the bushes to Red XIII's right. He spun, trying to bring his claws to bear. He was a hair too slow; he felt a pair of forepaws slam into his shoulder. Hind legs hit the dirt in front of him before pushing off. Springing back to his feet, Red XIII heard Barret yell – but no gunfire.

He swung around to see Barret pinned to the ground by…

_Oh_.

Red XIII felt his jaw drop open in surprise for the first time in his life. Standing atop Barret, her fiery red fur bristling, was a female… _him_.

He barked at her, not using language but instead modulating his under-purr to indicate a lack of hostile intent. She growled back at him, telling him that anyone who followed her for two to three miles was either hostile or in love with her.

With a low rumble, Red XIII indicated it was whichever one she wanted it to be.

"I'm still down here!" Barret rumbled.

* * *

Cid cut the radio transmission and settled back into his favorite chair, reaching instinctively for the cup of tea on the table next to it.

"What's the story?" Shera asked him, coming in from another room.

"Rufus 'n Reeve wanna talk to me 'bout forming an airships corps. I'm flyin' up there tomorrow.'"

Shera arched an eyebrow as she seated herself across from Cid and took up her own teacup. "You're joking. I thought you swore you'd never work with the Shin-Ra again, Cid."

"The kid's still an asshole, but he gave me a nice gun. And plus, it's really the WRO now, so..."

"Speaking of the _Not-So-Tiny-Bronco_," Shera spoke up, "you don't plan on… _firing_ it at anything, do you?"

"Naw," Cid replied cheerfully. "No worries, Shera. I'll just keep it around as a deterrent." He took another sip of tea, feeling the warmth intermingle with pleasure at the sight of the smile on Shera's face. "Unless someone _really_ pisses the hell outta me."

* * *

Vincent Valentine opened the door to Reeve's office.

He had to say he was impressed by the progress the WRO had made on their new headquarters in only two years. The skyscraper was nearly complete, save for some noncritical areas which were still under construction. Reeve's office looked out over Edge, affording him an impressive view. The Commissioner sat behind a large wooden desk which Vincent suspected he'd had salvaged from the old Shin-Ra building.

"Vincent," Reeve said, looking up from the papers stacked in front of him. "I was surprised when my secretary told me you'd requested an appointment. What can I do for you?"

"I need a ride back to the Central Continent," Vincent replied, not bothering to sit down. Reeve would either grant him his request or refuse him; either way, this meeting would not take long.

"Of course," Reeve replied. "Why didn't you go with Cid when he left, though?"

Vincent hesitated. "I had some thinking to do. Questions that needed answering. I still don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing, but I have to try."

Reeve, unsurprisingly, didn't look like he understood what Vincent was talking about, but he nodded anyway. "In the end that's all we can do, isn't it? I'll call up a pilot to meet you in the hangar. Where will you be going? Nibelheim?"

"No!" Vincent replied, more sharply than he'd intended – Reeve drew back slightly in his chair, surprised by Vincent's tone. "No," Vincent repeated, calmer this time. "If I'm going to move past my demons, I need to understand where they came from – but there aren't any more answers there. I need to go to the Waterfall Cave to see if I can talk with Lucrecia."

"I see," Reeve said. "Do you think she'll have any answers?"

"I don't know. But someone does, and I intend to find them." Vincent nodded to Reeve before sweeping out of his office, cloak billowing behind him.

Vincent was done repenting. Now he was going to set things right – no matter how long it took.

* * *

Cloud poked his head into Marlene's room to confirm she was asleep. He did the same with Denzel's room a moment later. Satisfied that both the kids were out cold, he moved as quietly as he could to his bedroom.

_Empty. Hmm_.

They hadn't used Tifa's bedroom since they'd gotten back, but perhaps she felt like sleeping in her bed tonight. Cloud had no objections.

_Also empty_.

He stood in the doorway, perplexed, then moved back to his own bedroom. _Did she leave without saying anything? That's not like Tifa_.

Cloud's bedroom was still empty. He began to turn around, then felt Tifa's breath on the back of his neck.

"Did you miss me?" she whispered in his ear.

"I was just going to start," Cloud replied in a low tone, "but then you made my heart and my throat get to know one another."

"You know you love it."

Cloud wasn't about to start denying that any time soon. He felt her move past him and saw that she was in a long silken nightgown which billowed against the curves of her body.

Time passed, and the nightgown – as well as Cloud's robe – ended up on the floor by the time silence ruled again. Cloud was aware of Tifa's arms wrapped around him, the rise and fall of her stomach against his. _I love you, _he thought.

"Cloud?" Tifa murmured in his ear. "Where do you want to go for our marriage? We've put it off to give Reeve a break, but we owe it to ourselves, after all."

Cloud considered for a long while, running through a list of places in his head. He finally settled on the one that had initially come to mind and hoped Tifa would agree with him on it.

"Icicle Inn," he said. "It's small, not a lot of people. I like the snow. And it's practically the only place on this damn planet that doesn't have a lot of bad memories."

Tifa smiled. "Elena punching you in the gut isn't a bad memory?"

"I let her win that one," Cloud said dismissively. "Trust me."

"Fair enough. But you do realize that's not the only thing."

"It's where Aerith was born, I know." Cloud carefully considered his words for a moment and then added, "But you're not Aerith, Tifa."

Running a hand through his hair, Tifa grinned at him. "I'm glad to hear it. She always was kind of a busybody."

Cloud laughed. Even a few weeks ago, he wouldn't have found that funny. He really must have moved on.

They kissed and did not stir until morning.

* * *

Auron floated in a void, entirely different than the Farplane but at the same time not so dissimilar. The Lifestream would take some getting used to, he thought, but in the end it would be more than worth it.

He felt the presences of Braska and Jecht coalesce and he permitted himself the thought of a smile. "It's good to… _see_ the two of you again."

"We're also pleased to see you," Braska resonated. "I take it that all went as planned?"

"Well. That would imply I planned any of it."

Jecht's presence radiated the color of laughter. "You crazy bastard."

Auron gave off the impression of modesty. "Thank you. But if Sephiroth's to be made a complete soul, he'll need to be able to experience those emotions he had difficulty with in his last life."

"More importantly, he'll need to find some way to level the scales. Make things even. He's going to have to do a helluva lot to keep this Lifestream from discarding him as waste."

"I think we might be able to help that process along," Braska said, exuding mischief. "You certainly helped shape that boy Cloud's life, Auron. Care to do a little more meddling?"

Auron grinned as Braska's plan became clear in his mind.

* * *

It was night in the small town, and the young pregnant woman was finally giving birth. Her friends gathered at her house to assist her.

The father, whoever he was, was nowhere to be seen.

The midwife told her that she was ready to give birth and that she had to push with each contraction.

She didn't recall much of those eleven hours beyond unimaginable pain and a sudden, breathtaking realization that it was over.

Carefully, Zangan washed the baby after the umbilical cord had been cut. He motioned for another citizen of the town to give him a blanket, which he wrapped the newborn in.

The mother's eyes widened with joy as Zangan presented her with her baby. "It's a boy," he said. "Might you have a name for him?"

She nodded, her eyes taking in every detail of the fragile little face. She looked at his tiny hands grasping at the air, at the color of his eyes – a rich blue which she hoped would never change.

"Cloud."

**Schism**

**End**

And that is the end of this edited, new, better Schism. Thank you for sticking with it throughout its rather shaky update schedule (real life has yet to apologize to me). I'd also like to thank VulcanElf, my lovely beta, for making it so nice and pretty. She was indispensable to this effort. All of you take care and I'll see you later, space cowboys.**  
**


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